thumb|upright=1.2|right|Aerial view of the National Memorial Arboretum, with the River Tame at bottom, 2011
The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in His Majesty's Armed Forces and the associated civilian community.
In 2017, after undergoing a large scale regeneration project, the arboretum's new award-winning Remembrance Centre was officially opened by the Duke of Cambridge on 23 March. It features three exhibition galleries, a larger restaurant and shop, separate coffee shop and a courtyard with garden.
Origins
The idea for the arboretum was conceived by Commander David Childs, CBE, in 1988, who wished to establish a national focus or 'centre' for remembrance to those that had died after giving to their community or country. An appeal was launched in 1994 by the then Prime Minister, John Major. He believed that the arboretum would form a living tribute to service men and women for future generations to reflect upon and enjoy while walking through a beautiful green scenery.
The future of the project became assured when three proposals were agreed. These were: for the site to be the location of the Armed Forces Memorial; for the Ministry of Defence to pay a significant grant-in-aid to allow for free entry and that The Royal British Legion would accept the gift of the site as the focus for the nation's year-round remembrance.
The project began with no money, no land, no staff and no trees, just an idea which was yet to exist in reality. The National Lottery, in the form of the Millennium Commission, granted some forty per cent of the funds needed and this was matched by thousands of donations from a wide variety of organisations both military and civilian, men and women, corporate and voluntary.
Location
The National Memorial Arboretum is situated just south of Alrewas on approximately of old gravel workings, north of Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is adjacent to the confluence of the River Tame with the River Trent, and directly neighbouring Croxall Lakes. It is at the western end of the National Forest, just off the A38 road. The site is also served by Diamond Buses NMA1 service that runs as a limited stop service from Tamworth.
Features
alt=The Polar Bear Memorial|left|thumb|upright|The Polar Bear Memorial was the first memorial dedicated on site, on 7 June 1998.
The arboretum contains more than 25,000 trees.
The largest section is the Armed Forces Memorial, at the heart of the arboretum, which is a tribute to over 16,000 service personnel who have lost their lives in conflict or as a result of terrorism since the end of the Second World War. At 11 am on 11 November each year the sun shines through two slits in the outer and inner walls of the memorial, casting a shaft of light across a wreath in the centre. The Armed Forces Memorial was dedicated in October 2007 by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the presence of Elizabeth II.
Other areas of the site include an RAF 'wing', Naval review and Army parade. Civilian areas include 'The Beat' which contains memorials and dedications to police forces from around the UK and commonwealth. There is a Wartime Nurses Memorial, to 1,300 VAD and professional nurses who died in the First and Second World Wars.
Within the arboretum is the Millennium Chapel of Peace and Forgiveness where, at 11 am each day, an act of remembrance takes place. Following the two-minute silence, accompanied by the Last Post and Reveille, there is an introductory talk about the arboretum. The Bastion Memorial commemorates British casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). A memorial to the Lisbon Maru was unveiled in 2021.
A 'remembrance glade' was unveiled at the arboretum by the Royal British Legion in September 2021, featuring plants chosen for their symbolic meanings in relation to grief and new beginnings.
Daily activities on site include guided walks, buggy tours, land train rides and free talks, as well as the Daily Act of Remembrance. Most of these activities are conducted by a team of over 260 volunteers, who collectively dedicate more than 52,000 hours of their time per year to the arboretum. In 2010, the Volunteers of the National Memorial Arboretum were awarded The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.
|2002
|-
|200px|| Christmas Truce Memorial
On 12 December 2014, a memorial on the centenary of the World War I Christmas truce, when British and German soldiers stopped fighting in the trenches and played football in no man's land, was unveiled by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the England national football team manager Roy Hodgson and Greg Dyke, chairman of the Football Association. The Football Remembers memorial was designed by ten-year-old Spencer Turner after a UK-wide competition.
|2014
|-
| 200x200px|| Polar Bear Memorial
The Polar Bear Association Memorial was the first monument and sculpture to be erected at the National Memorial Arboretum. It is a tribute to the 49th Infantry West Riding Division and was dedicated on 7 June 1998. In the Second World War they were stationed in Iceland and as they were snowed in under of snow for most of the campaign, their commanding officer called the men 'his Polar Bears' and the polar bear on a block of ice was soon adopted as their mascot and shoulder flash. Made from yellow hardwood, the bear is and and weighs 2.5 tonnes; it was created by the Essex Woodcarvers and took six men a year to carve. Inside the bear is a capsule containing the names of the members of the 49th Division who died, together with relevant letters and documents.
|1998
|-
|200px || The Polish Service Men and Women Memorial
A dedicated memorial has been erected in recognition of the contribution made by Polish service men and women to the Allied Forces during the Second World War. The centre monument sculptured by Robert Sobocinski was unveiled by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent on 19 September 2009.
|2009
|-
| 268x268px|| Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)
The RNLI memorial has been landscaped as a pebble, shingle and sand beach. The dramatic figure of a lifeboat man in his 19th-century oilskins and cork life jacket was sculpted by Andrew Fitchett.
|-
| 200x200px|| Shot at Dawn
During the First World War some 306 British and Commonwealth soldiers were shot for desertion or cowardice; the real cause for their offences was often a psychological reaction to the stresses of war which today would be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress syndrome or combat stress reaction. Shot at Dawn is modelled on Private Herbert Burden, of the 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, who was shot at Ypres in 1915 aged 17.
|2001
|-
|200px || Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS) Garden
The SANDS Garden is for bereaved parents. At the centre of the garden is a sculpture of the SANDS tear drop logo which was created by John Roberts and the Portland Sculpture Trust to encourage people to sit and touch the central carved figure of the baby.
|
|-
|200x200px||Sumatra Railway Memorial
Unveiled in 2001, the Sumatra Railway Memorial was designed by Jack Plant who was captured by the Japanese and forced to work constructing the railway. The memorial commemorates the 700 Allied PoWs who died building the Sumatra Railway. Several thousand captured Allied troops were forced to work on the railway.
|2001
|-
|}