THE
P RTAL
August 2018
Page 23
Association, and the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death
If you go and visit the Arboretum, and we hope you
Society.
do, there are three memorials that you really must
not miss. The first is that to The Allied Special Forces.
Being driven round the Arboretum one quickly sees It is down by the River Tame and is the work of one
that everything there is symbolic: like the gun carriage man, Mike. Nearby is an original WWII pill box at its
seats of the Royal Artillery. We drove past memorials original site.
to the Fire Brigade, the RAF Regiment, Civil Defence,
the Suez Veterans Association and a memorial to the
Perhaps rather more controversial is the memorial
Sikh soldiers who died in the Great War. One can only to those British Soldiers who were shot at dawn by the
imagine what it must have been like to be brought British for a variety of military offences. Recently they
from India, to Flanders.
have been pardoned, but the memorial is a place not
to miss.
The Royal Hong Kong Police have a memorial, as
do those who took part in the 1950 Nuclear Tests on
Be sure to visit the memorial to those who died
Christmas Island. Similarly, there is a memorial to the building those two famous railways in the east:
Glider Pilot Regiment, and those who were involved the Burma Railway and the Sumatra Railway. The
in “Market Garden”, that ill-fated raid on the bridge Arboretum has sections of the Burma Railway as a
at Arnhem.
poignant memorial. We wondered what those who
suffered the worst of sufferings building them would
The Armed Forces Memorial hosts an Annual think, if they knew that sections of it would end up in
naming ceremony for the new names added that year. a field in Staffordshire.
Although there are plenty of reminders of the Great
War and World War II, the focus has shifted to more
modern conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan. WWII
is not, of course to be forgotten. There is a whole wood
dedicated to the role played by the Merchant Navy.
One tree for every merchant ship sunk in that war:
over 3,000 of them.
Paul the storyteller and a spitfire
Each organisation produces their own memorial. A
design is submitted, the cost is borne by the particular
organisation, a spot is chosen and the memorial is
erected, all is overseen by the National Memorial
Arboretum of course.
Driving past a Spitfire to commemorate 100 years of
the RAF, we met Paul the Storyteller. Later we were
At the centre of the Arboretum is the Armed Forces
to see him involving a group of children in balloon Memorial, opened by HM the Queen in 2007. It has
modelling.
stairs and a pathway, but for those who find these
difficult, there are buggies. Do not miss it. Every name
Along one side of the site runs the River Tame, which of every service person who died whilst serving since
joins the Trent, before making its way to the North Sea. the end of the Second World War – whether in conflict
or training accident - is inscribed on the walls.
We passed the Children’s Wood where each of the
trees is dedicated to a specific child. The wood has a
The first ones are from those serving in Palestine in
playground too. This Arboretum is not a sad place, but 1945, the last names are six for 2017. Perhaps most
a hopeful one. It is about reconciliation and conflict poignant of all is the large empty wall awaiting names
resolution. They have over three hundred memorials, for the future.
with about six or seven new ones opening every year.
After our trip around the place, we had a snack lunch
The Arboretum has some paid staff, but about two in the restaurant before making our way home. It was a
hundred and sixty volunteers who, like Chris our memorable visit and one we shall not forget in a hurry.
guide, do a regular shift at the site. His knowledge of Do visit. All the details are on their web site at www.
the Arboretum, its history and purpose was second to thenma.org.uk. Use DE13 7AR for satellite navigation
none. He made our brief stay most enjoyable.
systems.