When the HPower Group was asked to produce the Service of Dedication for the unveiling of the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial in Victoria Embankment Gardens, London at 11am on the 9th March 2017, Qdos Event Hire was the sole supplier of temporary accommodation and welfare facilities.
The new Memorial recognises the contributions of the UK Armed Forces and all UK citizens who were deployed in the Gulf region, Iraq and Afghanistan from 1990-2015, and those who supported them back home.
A Service of Dedication was conducted from a specially constructed Drumhead on Horse Guards Parade with The Queen, Prime Minister Theresa May and the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, all in attendance. Joining them were His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Henry of Wales. Readings were given by Prince Henry and a Ministry of Defence Civil Servant Victoria Whittaker who deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
Work commenced on the project for Qdos on 1st March when they delivered two 24ft x 9ft cabins, one with a 50/50 split, and an 18ft x 7ft 6” mobile office for use as event and site offices by HPower Group’s production team. In addition, a wide range of WCs from Qdos’ comprehensive offering was supplied for the event, including more than ten luxury vacuum toilet trailers, in various configurations to accommodate male, female and disabled guests. An experienced Qdos project manager oversaw the installation and remained onsite to ensure everything ran smoothly from their perspective.
Commenting on the facilities provided by Qdos Event Hire, HPower Group’s director, Nick Brookes-Ward said: “This was a high-profile event, with many of the UK’s leading Royals, politicians and dignitaries in attendance so top notch facilities were most definitely the order of the day. We work with Qdos on a fairly regular basis and are always impressed with the quality of its products and the team – they have a can-do, customer focussed approach which is exactly what was needed for this project.”
James Thomas, Qdos Event Hire’s managing director added: “Working within Horse Guards and Embankment Gardens presents its own challenges, given its historical and cultural significance. Obviously, security is very tight and stopping work, for the Changing of the Guard each day, has to be factored into our schedules. Luckily our team has plenty of experience working here from previous projects and this coupled with our great working relationship with HPower Group made for a successful project.”