Events

Members of the Ampleforth Society are warmly invited to attend the sixth Virtual St Laurence Ethics Forum, taking place at 7:00pm (GMT) on Thursday 26th November. 

The focus of this forum will be The Rule of St Benedict and its importance to the British Armed Forces. The forum will also consider the continued relevance of the Benedictine Core Values in the 21st century, as technology and artificial intelligence play an increasing role in all aspects of the military.  The forum will be chaired by Lieutenant Colonel Miles Blackford and will feature three highly esteemed guest speakers: Major General Sir Sebastian Roberts KCVO OBE (J72), Major General Chris Ghika CBE (E88), and Fr Richard ffield OSB (A59).  

The event will take place via Microsoft Teams and will conclude with a Q&A. Please note that pre-registration is essential. 

To register for the forum, please click here.  

If you have any queries, please contact societymail@ampleforth.org.uk. To watch the recordings of our previous Virtual SLEFs, please visit Ampleforth Global. 

Speakers: 

Major General Sir Sebastian Roberts KCVO OBE 

Major General Sir Sebastian Roberts was formerly Colonel of the Irish Guards. From 1997 to 2000, he was responsible for army doctrine, during which he wrote the moral doctrine of the British Army, ‘Soldiering: The Military Covenant’, which formed the basis of the teaching of ethics in all three services. In 2003, he was appointed Major General commanding the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District, before later in 2007 becoming the Senior Army Representative at the Royal College of Defence Studies. In 2011, he was responsible for a review of officer training which resulted in a renewed focus upon the teaching of ethics to recruits. 

Major General Chris Ghika CBE  

Major General Chris Ghika currently commands the Household Division and amongst other things is responsible for guarding the Royal Family and the troops involvement in anti-terrorism. He commanded a battalion in Afghanistan in 2010 and became Deputy Commander of the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve campaign against ISIS in 2018. In June 2020, Major General Ghika delivered an OA masterclass to pupils of Ampleforth College which can be viewed by clicking here.  

Fr Richard ffield OSB  

Fr Richard joined the monastery 50 years ago after training as an engineer. After being a Housemaster for 21 years, he spent 12 years as a member of our Monastery of Christ the Word in Zimbabwe. Fr Richard is currently the Editor of the Ampleforth Journal, Chaplain to the Ampleforth Society and Chaplain to St Cuthbert’s House.   

Lieutenant Colonel Miles Blackford (Chair)  

Lt Col Miles Blackford is the Contingent Commander of the Ampleforth College CCF. He joined the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles in 1989 after completing a year at Sandhurst. Other placements also saw Lt Col Blackford serve with 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland as a Company 2i/c and with the Highlanders, where he commanded a Gurkha Company attached to that battalion. Today, in addition to being Contingent Commander of the CCF, he is also a tutor in St John’s House, a Games coach and leader of the student leadership development forum at the College.