Metal smiths deployed to Iraq to repair armoured vehicles have crafted a set of candlesticks for the camp church especially for an Armed Forces Day church service.

Padre John Durant chaplain to the Joint Force Logistic Component based in Kuwait commissioned the set of four candlesticks for St John the Baptist’s Chapel in the British base.

The dedication will coincide with a special service for the morning of Armed Forces Day on 27 June.

Padre John said:

The theme for the service is going to be light – for truth, hope and celebration. The chapel doesn’t have a set of candlesticks so I thought it would be appropriate to have some made.

He asked metal smiths from 9 Armoured Company Royal Electrical Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (REME) to forge a new set of four steel candlesticks out of mild steel, using traditional forging techniques.

Staff Sergeant Rory Olney and Corporal Chris Hunter normally repairs armoured vehicles but they took up the challenge and spent nearly 40 man-hours of their own time crafting a pair of five-foot and another of 18-inch candlesticks for the alter.

Receiving the candlesticks, Padre Durant said:

They’ve done a fantastic job. They’re very skilled and have made something very special.

Staff Sergeant Olney, 41, from Bordon in Hampshire, said: ‘It was a challenge, but we enjoyed adapting our techniques to make them and it gives us a different project to work on.

Metalsmiths attend a nine-month course at the REME training school in Bordon to City and Guilds level qualifications before working in the field.

They used a portable forge made by SSgt Olney. Using domestic coke and a powerful electric fan it can reach temperatures of 3000 degrees centigrade. They only need 900 degrees to work mild steel.

Staff Sergeant Olney and Corporal Hunter, 26 from Manchester, have worked in the Kuwait Support Facility since 11 May, improving the security on containers carrying sensitive equipment as part of the effort to return UK equipment from Basra in good order.