City News

The National Memorial Arboretum has unveiled plans that will see it transformed into a world-class centre for remembrance.  The Arboretum, supported by The Royal British Legion, honours the fallen, recognises sacrifice and fosters pride in the country.

HRH Prince William of Wales today launched the £8 million NMA Future Foundations Appeal and accepted officially the Appeal Council’s invitation for him to become their patron [see note to editors for list of Appeal Council members].  Prince William spent the afternoon exploring some of the 150 memorials located at the expansive Staffordshire site and talked to families of the fallen, for whom the site has come to mean so much.

The Appeal will enable the Arboretum to welcome a growing number of visitors and develop it into an internationally acclaimed centre for remembrance.  Specific projects include the creation of a new education facility, a Veterans Pavilion, a central space where major memorial services can be held, and improvements to the existing chapel.

Opened just eight years ago, on land restored and gifted by quarrying company, Lafarge, visitor numbers surged in 2008 to the 300,000 mark.  Much of the growth in interest in the Arboretum has been due to the unveiling of the Armed Forces Memorial.  It is the nation’s tribute to the 16,000 servicemen and women who have died on duty, or as a result of terrorism, since shortly after the end of the Second World War.  The towering Portland Stone walls of the Memorial are added to annually, with the engraving of 67 new names taking place over the next month.     

Major General Patrick Cordingley, chair of the Appeal, said: “The first time I visited the Arboretum, I stepped up to the Armed Forces Memorial and gazed at the walls of names.  It was a very emotional moment.  In amongst the names were those with whom I had served over the years.  This wonderful Memorial, combined with the many other tributes to fallen comrades that fill the 150-acre site, make it a most powerful and uplifting place.

“The Arboretum’s wonderful memorials are drawing increasing numbers of visitors from across the UK.  This Appeal will ensure that it has the facilities to provide every person who passes through its gate a uniquely memorable experience.”  

During the visit, Prince William met and spoke with Tricia Wall of Nottingham and her son Alex (6).  Her husband, Company Sergeant Major Colin Wall, was killed in Basra, Iraq in 2003 and his name appears on the Armed Forces Memorial.  She said: “The Arboretum has come to mean a great deal to all of the family and especially to Alex, who was just 11 months old at the time of his dad’s death.  

“We’ll always be incredibly proud of Colin and this magnificent place is an awe-inspiring tribute that will forever honour him and the thousands of other men and women who have lost their lives serving their country.”