The Regimental Crests Window, shown below, is made up of stained glass crests which originally appeared on two separate windows.
In the late 1960s, the Church of Scotland Canteen in Mandora Road, Aldershot was demolished and around this time St Andrew's Garrison Church acquired the circular stained glass window with 12 small, round, Scottish, regimental crests which had originally been erected in this canteen. The stained glass window was then stored, rather than erected. (These are the stained glass crests numbered 6 to 17 below.)
Later another stained glass window, with five larger regimental crests on it (none of them specifically Scottish regiments), was acquired; probably from Smith Dorrien House, Queen's Avenue, Aldershot. The five crests on this window date from the early part of the Twentieth Century. One of the crests is that of the Royal Engineers. It has the cypher of Edward VII (1901-1910) on it. Another crest is that of the Army Service Corps which became the Royal Army Service Corps in 1918. (These are the stained glass crests numbered 1 to 5 below.)
In the early 1980s, Rev David Reid, who was minister at the time, came across both windows and proposed incorporating them in one new window for the church. The cost of the new stained glass was met by the trustees of the St Andrew's Scottish Soldiers Club Fund.
There are 12 stones set into the brickwork of the back wall of the Cameron Chapel.
The stones show regimental crests, from the Second World War, principally of Scottish regiments. The designs appear to have been modelled mainly on cap badges.
These stones were carved in Egypt, by German prisoners of war. They were placed in an army church, which, at the time of its construction, was known as St Andrew's Kirk, Geneifa, Egypt. That building was constructed by Scottish troops, in early 1943, to replace a tented church. It officially opened on 4th July 1943. Following the withdrawal of British troops from Egypt, in the mid 1950s, St Andrew's Kirk was closed.
The stones then moved, via a brief spell in Cyprus, to St Andrew's Garrison Church, Aldershot. Some are in good condition, others are badly worn. (For fuller details of the history of the stones see the History section of this website - p3 "Church Memorials".)
The complete set is displayed below along with a plan of their position on the back wall of the Cameron Chapel.
a: The design of this shield, crown and motto are those used on the arms of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. However the background colour of the shield should be black, not dark blue as here.
b: The centre of this badge is too badly worn to be 100% certain as to its identification.
