Scroll returns (From Salisbury Journal)
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Scroll returns
11:37am Thursday 26th January 2012 in Forces focus By David Falcke
Lieutenant Mervis' parents Jonathan and Margaret with Rabbi Reuben Livingstone and the scroll.
A TORAH scroll believed to have belonged to the, now defunct, Army Synagogue at Aldershot Garrison has been refurbished and is to be re-dedicated in memory of Lieutenant Paul Mervis of The Rifles, a Jewish officer killed in action in June, 2009.
The scroll was found at Guildford Synagogue but its poor condition had precluded it from use. It was returned to the Armed Forces Jewish Community (AFJC) and the refurbishment was sponsored by Lt Mervis’s parents, Jonathan and Margaret.
A stunning new mantle in rifle green and silver, the colours of The Rifles, Paul’s regiment, and emblazoned with the AFJC crest has been commissioned by the charity, Friends of Jewish Servicemen and Women.
The ceremony, attended by members of the Mervis family and the Commander Field Army, General Sir Nick Parker, who is the Regimental Colonel of The Rifles, was led by army reserve chaplain, Padre (Rabbi) Reuben Livingstone.
“This is history in the making,” said Colonel Martin Newman, chairman of the Jewish Committee for HM Forces. “At the end of National Service, the Sefer Torahs (scrolls) of the Army and RAF Synagogues, which were ultimately closed, were dispersed among small communities and all traces of them were lost.”
“We have always had our own scrolls and they were even taken into operational theatres during the Second World War and possibly beyond, so it was a matter of some concern when we suddenly found ourselves without one. Thanks to the Mervis family to whom we are indebted, we will, once again, have our own scroll which will be a truly fitting tribute to Paul, a brilliant young officer who was dedicated to his job and to his soldiers.”
When Lt Mervis was killed he was carrying a prayer book belonging to Colonel Newman’s father who carried it during the battle of El Alamein when he was serving with 2 Rifle Brigade.
The Mervis Sefer Torah which has a crest embroidered on the scroll incorporates the Menorah (six branch candelabra) cap badge of the Jewish battalions of the Royal Fusiliers raised during the First World War and will be used in future at all Jewish military gatherings.
