GBZ,

I do not follow your argument. The plan is to site the monument in the National Arboretum. Surely this equates to keeping what we have and building on it?

OK, fair point. Until I know more about the proposed Memorial, though, I will stick by what I said.

From the Memorial website; “Following a period of extensive consultation with the Services and ex-Services community it was concluded that a new national memorial should be constructed – to be known as the Armed Forces Memorial”, implies more stone than tree.
The National Memorial Arboretum already serves the purpose described. I would argue that these plantations are individual expressions of bereavement and remembrance. A similar example is the tree plantation to the East of Stanley, remembering those who lost there lives retaking and reinforcing the Falkland Islands. This was an expression of personal gratitude and remembrance by the Islanders. It is now normal to have a short Church Parade there after the Remembrance Sunday Service; and very moving it is too. The salient point here is that this is distinctly additional to, not in place of the traditional event.

I would be interested to know some precise detail of what is proposed at Alrewas. Is the intention to replace the Cenotaph and the various individual memorials?

GBZ

read more of the website. The plan is not only to commemorate those lost in conflict, for which you rightly point out the Cenotaph is the correct memorial, but also to commemorate those lost in accidents and training who are not recorded elsewhere. I have lost a few good friends who have died not as part of conflict but part of routine training and other activities; their names are not recorded anywhere bar their gravestones.:sad: Not on the Cenotaph, not on town memorials not on village or parish memorials.

Sorry Roland P, I was having one of those ripple fired thick moments. I had not grasped the true meaning of the phrase, "have given their lives while on duty".

What would be the intended date start point for name inclusion please?

Armed Forces Memorial
 

Read sommewhere it will be 1 Jan 48 (as the CWGC commemorate up to 31 Dec 47)

Ladies and Gents

I know that The Mail is not everyones favourite but they have jumped on this project as their pet project of the moment, particulalry as they can have a go at the "loonies" running the National Lottery funds:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...&icc=NEWS&ct=5

I guess this link will only last for today so I will try and update it over the weekend from their archives.

I posted this link in the Remeberance sticky yesterday - didn't see this thread - I should read more carefully. Anyway the DM appeal address is:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/memorialappeal

I agree with all that has gone before I think we should get behind this. We can't trust this to the Govt. or Lottery IMHO.

In view of the good news, that the Lottery Fund has now agreed to put 2.4m GBP into the project, apparently after an angry Gordon Brown gave the trustees a roasting, it would seem to be a good idea to leave this up as a sticky for two or three days only, and as it is covered in the Rememberance thread.

Good result. The DM report that their appeal is now closed.

PPP

National Arboretum
 

Having visited the National Arboretum this year, albeit in bad weather, I was hugely impressed by the site both as a memorial today and what it will be like in twenty-five years or so when all those trees begin to mature.

It will be a superb site for a national memorial.

BBC: £2.8m boost for forces memorial

Plans to build a memorial honouring some 16,000 servicemen and women has been given a £2.8m lottery grant. The Millennium Commission has given the money to build the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

The memorial honours people killed on duty or as a result of terrorist action since the end of World War II.

Work started on the monument in October but fundraisers still need to raise another £1.5m.....

Any one know who will decide which names are listed please?

According to the Memorial Website there is a Board of Trustees (Pressumably from MoD). Not sure who but an Army Lt Col was on BBC Midlands a couple of weeks ago and banner referred to him as Head of Memorial Project Team
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