AN ancient ceremony to swear in Wiltshire’s High Sheriff, usually conducted in front of hundreds of people, was carried out on a video conference in front of just seven because of coronavirus restrictions.
Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE was due to make his declaration and acceptance in front of 130 people at The Guildhall in Salisbury but instead he did so in front of just six others in the study at his home.
He said the 30-minute ceremony, which dates back to Saxon times, had a surreal edge to it. “We were going to do this big ceremony in Salisbury, which would have been the first in the city in living memory and a great occasion,” he said. “Then we were going to transfer it to the parish church near Broad Chalke, where I live and then, when the grip of coronavirus got tighter, just a few people in my house. But even that proved to be too much, so it was my wife Jenny and I.
“It was the first time this ceremony, founded before 1066, had taken place on the internet. We were all, rather surreally, dressed in our finery – there was a High Court judge in his wig and robes - but it was also fun and a relief that the technology worked. It was essentially the same ceremony as would have happened at the Guildhall, apart from the procession and the piper.”
He has vowed to use his year in office to champion communities, which he says is even more important in the wake of the pandemic. He is chairman of the Wiltshire Community Foundation, which has launched the Wiltshire and Swindon Coronavirus Response Fund.
He said: “Being High Sheriff at a time of coronavirus, when the emphasis will all be on how we help the small charities and small communities, means it is a marriage made in heaven that I am also chairman of the Wiltshire Community Foundation. It is the vulnerable people communities who are very difficult to identify and get money to, and that’s what our appeal is all about.”
He said his theme for the year will be ‘One Community’. He added: “My chosen charity is the Wiltshire Community Foundation and in the present circumstances the need for the community foundation and its county-wide network of intelligence is going to be absolutely invaluable.
“One Community is apt for two reasons, firstly this year marks the culmination of the transfer of the British Army from Germany to the UK and most of it to Wiltshire and we need to make sure the newly-arrived military community is integrated with the host civilian community.
“Secondly, this emergency is going to force us all to work together, this virus is a great leveller. Hopefully it will force people to realise we have all got to work together as one community.”
The High Sheriff’s year usually involves many visits to voluntary groups and support, but social distancing restrictions mean, for at least the first three months, he will have to play things differently.
“I’m going to be a cyber sheriff,” he said. “I will be using the phone and the internet to visit groups. I’ve already been in touch with several of those the community foundation funds, and they have been very pleased to hear from me.”
The new High Sheriff enjoyed a distinguished career serving worldwide with the Army, retiring in 2001. The High Sheriff is the Sovereign’s representative in the county for matters of law and order.
The Wiltshire and Swindon Coronavirus Response Fund has already raised almost £50,000. To donate go to: https://localgiving.org/appeal/coronavirus-response-fund/
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