Army Bee, the Best!

Headquarters Standing Joint Command in Aldershot is often referred to as a hive of activity; well now it can claim that literally as well as metaphorically. There is a certain buzz going around the headquarters and it is coming from the 30,000 bees being housed in two hives that have been established within the grounds at Montgomery House.

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The man wearing the beekeeping suit behind the project is Major Frank Culverwell a member of the headquarters staff. By his own admission, an avid naturalist, Frank embraces all that is wholesome about home produced natural food. During his time at the Army Training Regiment in Winchester he set about developing several allotments to help relieve some of the stress being felt by the young recruits cooped up during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.



I arrived at Montgomery House about 5 months ago and through speaking with Frank learnt of his bee initiative. I thought it was something quite interesting, different and a great way to get out and away from the computer where I spend a lot of time, as many of us do. I just thought it was a really good way to force myself away and make sure I am taking breaks.

Captain Jass Woodford

It is with an eye to the headquarters staffs’ well-being and mindfulness that Frank saw the opportunity to set up his hives. Beekeeping has long since been recognised as a stress relieving activity as well as providing a sense of purpose and a periodic distraction from the pressures of everyday life. Armed with this, he made a successful bid for an Army Welfare grant to purchase the hives then got to work transferring some of the bees he keeps where he lives in the Officers’ Mess.

One of those headquarters’ members of staff, Captain Jass Woodford was keen to explain what she gets out of working the hives, “I arrived at Montgomery House about 5 months ago and through speaking with Frank learnt of his bee initiative. I thought it was something quite interesting, different and a great way to get out and away from the computer where I spend a lot of time, as many of us do. I just thought it was a really good way to force myself away and make sure I am taking breaks.”

Frank’s passion for bees started when he enrolled onto an online beekeeping course, again during the Covid-19 lockdown, as an activity to do when everyone was locked away. Referring to its therapeutic advantages, Frank said, “Going to see the bees, you’re just focused on one thing. When you’re in your bee suit looking in a hive you don’t think about anything else – it’s a great distraction.” He added, “Nobody had ever applied for funding for anything like this, so there were a lot of questions; the main one being, what will happen when I move on? I arranged for an awayday for my team and other staff members to observe and learn how to manage bee colonies, so when I am posted these hives will remain.”



It will take another few months for them to become productive, but the aspiration is to be able to produce jars of Army Bee the Best Honey!

Major Frank Culverwell

Today (20th May) is ‘World Bee Day’, an annual event that is designed to draw attention to the essential role that bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy. This year the theme is ‘Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all’. A fascinating statistic often quoted that underpins the significance of the world bee population is, ‘One in every three bites across the globe is taken to consume a foodstuff that has been naturally pollinated.’

Frank installed the hives at Montgomery House a month ago and he explained “It will take another few months for them to become productive, but the aspiration is to be able to produce jars of Army Bee the Best Honey!”