of St. George's public meeting last night.

The museum, suggested to be located on Ordnance Island, could fill a gap in Bermuda's early history for visitors.

"No single museum in Bermuda is dedicated to the military history of the Island,'' Mayor of St. George's the Wor. Henry Hayward said. "We're leaving a gap which another museum could fill. St. George's... is the perfect location for such a project.'' Mr. Hayward said the museum could come under the powers of the Preservation Authority, which he denied was "an advisory board to Government''.

He said the board consists of the Mayor of St. George's, three Corporation members who are appointed by the Governor and three Governor-appointed persons from the National Trust.

Lt. Col. Brendan Hollis said Bermuda's roots lay in its military history, and from when it was first colonised, the main objective was defence.

"St. George's was once a garrison town,'' he said. "Heritage, as it applies to Bermuda and the Bermudian way of life, had its origin here. If it did not originate here it certainly manifested itself here.

"The military aspect of our heritage is sadly overlooked. This is an important part of heritage which is not displayed in any way or form. The western end have the Maritime Museum which is excellent, but there is nothing putting forth our military heritage.

"I think a military museum should display and portray the military history of local units. We should not overlook the British military presence and later on the Canadian and the United States.'' Lt. Col. Hollis said the Globe Hotel, a confederate museum in St. George's, is one of the National Trust's more popular ones.

"Americans relate to it,'' he said. "They recognise it as something American and they want to explore it.

"Those (Bermudians) I've talked to have been very keen on the idea and think there would be a lot of support both in its formation and participation after it's built.'' Earlier, Mr. Hayward told the crowd: "If there is a theme tonight, it's `Let's get involved'.'' He said the St. George's entertainment committee, now part of the Chamber of Commerce, had "made Bermuda aware not only of its' historic value, but that the community is alive''.

Mr. Hayward said the Old Towne is presently in a "serious financial position'' brought about by unavoidable capital expenditures, and now has an annual deficit of $360,000.

He said $2.3 million had been spent in resurfacing and upgrading areas in St.

George's' during the past two years, with Government providing $173,000 toward repaving of roads, $530,000 in assistance and a further $100,000 in the Budget.

The Mayor also expressed concern that Government is not providing much needed financial assistance toward the town's volunteer fire service.

Chairman of the St. George's division of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. David Rowntree, said "Our aim is to hold a meeting every year for the business community at the start of season and resolve any problems we might have before the season starts. Funding and support will determine what we can achieve.

"St. George's is a living, breathing town and should be promoted accordingly for Bermudians as well as tourists. The town has much to offer and the business community needs to get organised and work as a unit to promote (it).'' Mr. Rowntree said hopes for the town included those that one ticket could be sold to cover entry into the parish's four museums and that walking tours and town hosts could be introduced.

Bermuda National Trust director Mr. Alwyn McKittrick said it was necessary to educate the public on the importance of preserving Bermuda's heritage.

"Ten percent are `over developers','' he said. "On the other hand (there) is the National Trust. In the middle is 80 percent of the Bermuda public. We must now take up the challenge and stress the importance of what we have left before it's too late.'' He said the National Trust has an annual budget of $1 million and that he does not want insufficient funds to force the Trust to turn away historic sights because it is unable to properly preserve them.