VIDEO: Baby Primrose steals show at Stafford barracks
Five-month-old Primrose Neely stole the show when her parents were handed the keys to their new home at MoD Stafford.
The tiny tot grabbed the shiny keys from Colonel Richard Maybery before her father, Lance Corporal Richard Neely, got the chance - breaking the ice at the official handover ceremony.
The three-bedroom property, in Javelin Crescent, is one of 346 homes being built as part of a £150 million investment at Beacon Barracks.
The first handful homes were handed over yesterday, while the rest, with many still being built, will be transferred in phases over the summer.
The army base is being transformed into a mini-satellite town for the arrival of 1,000 servicemen from the 16 Signal Regiment and 1 Armoured Division Signal Regiment who are relocating from Germany this summer.
LCpl Neely, aged 28, his wife Rachel, 26, and Primrose arrived yesterday after two years at Javelin Barracks in Elmpt, close to the Dutch border. The family is originally from Northern Ireland.
He said: "It's a nice touch to keep the name of our old base in the road name - like a home from home.
"It's exciting to be moving in to a completely new house. The proportions are different to our former home but luckily the furniture will fit. We're really looking forward to everyone else arriving and to exploring Stafford. On first impressions it seems to be a really great town."
The Lovell-built family quarters, situated across the road from the main base, make up around a third of the building project, with the remainder comprising the redevelopment by Land Lease of the barracks itself, including six three-storey accommodation blocks for single servicemen.
Among the new tenants are members of 248 Gurkha Signal Squadron. LCpl Uday Limbu, aged 27, said their smart new homes had made a huge difference to the soldiers.
He said: "It's so much better than the old accommodation - the rooms are bigger and better furnished. It's given a real boost to morale."
A name plaque was unveiled by Colonel Maybery to mark the first block's completion. Afterwards he said: "It's really good that money is being spent not just on technical infrastructure but living accommodation."
The work, which will establish the town as one of the Army's seven 'super garrisons', is due to be completed by the end of August.
