Thursday 23 April 2009

Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas

I found time yesterday to visit the Arboretum at Alrewas which is only a 30 minute drive away, I have visited many times since attending the tree planting ceremony back in 2001.

The site has come on in leaps and bounds since then and tomorrow (Friday 24th April) a visit is due by Prince William to launch a new appeal for funds.

Here are some photos I took yesterday, starting with the Arethusa tree....


This is a shot of the new (2007)Armed Forces Memorial, which is dedicated to all those who died on duty since the end of WW2.



The walls are inscribed with the names of casualties in date order.




Through these slots in the walls the sun will shed a beam of light on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November which casts a light on a wreath at the centre of the memorial.




When I first saw this memorial last year I was quite shocked by the number of names of those lost during so-called peace-time and also by the amount of space left for future losses....