National Memorial Arboretum

Little Ladies Big World have written about their recent adventures at the Arboretum, including exploring our #RAF100 shipping containers...
"Yet again we were surprised with how much and how immersive the activities were. Not only do they have costumed interpreters at the weekends by the spitfire and flag painting for all but they have two war room containers full of information through from now until November. One is a billet room where you can get ready for inspection by ma...king the beds and dressing up, the other a command and operations room complete with maps and communication equipment of the time. It was enough to really allow the children to learn and show interest in what everything was. Even down to a telephone and type writer which I don’t think they’ve ever seen before. It was humbling to see how excited they were to watch that one letter stamp on a piece of crisp white paper with the accompanying distinctive click. A far cry from a smart phone and a laptop that’s for sure."
Learn more about their exciting day out: https://littleladiesbigworld.co.uk/tr…/ raf-100-celebrations/
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The National Memorial Arboretum is home to more than 370 memorials nestled amongst almost 30,000 trees. Explore 150-acres of tranquil woodland with your family this summer.

During 2018 the Royal Air Force are celebrating the centenary of their formation #RAF100. Join us for a spotlight on the RAF from two servicemen, WO Andy Rodulson and SAC(T) Chris Churchman.
This talk will be an exciting blend of personal narrative from the two team members, both of whom have operational experience, and highly engaging and dramatic video footage. Both elements will depict the modern RAF’s contribution to airpower, the defence of the UK and giving the nation choice in times of global crisis.
WO Andy Rodulson joined the Royal Air Force in 1985, whilst SAC(T) Chris Churchman joined later in 2012.

A big #ThursdayThanks to our friends at Grupo Antolin. Having made the Arboretum their charity of the year three staff members, Adrian Round, Steve Siddall and Mike Pugh set out to complete the infamous ‘Fan Dance’, the 24km route march across the Brecon Beacons used as part of the UK Special Forces selection process. Adrian and the team completed it, all carrying packs, during one of the hottest weekends of the summer so far and in doing so they raised a superb £1,201 to support your national centre of remembrance. Thank you lads, the blisters were worth it!

Our final Plant Hunters' Fair of 2018 takes place next weekend, featuring 18 nurseries. Green fingered visitors have the opportunity to explore the wide selection of plants available for purchase and receive gardening advice. Standwell Tools will also be present at the event, with a range of “back-saving” digging tools available for sale.
The nurseries will be located on Yeomanry Avenue near the Armed Forces Memorial.
All of the nurseries grow the plants they offer for sale and can therefore dispense valuable advice about which specimens would best suit a particular garden and whether they fit a specific planting plan

Join us to enjoy a spectacular evening of summer entertainment. As the sun begins to set, the live band will regale our audience with a rousing performance featuring a repertoire of traditional proms favourites. The Proms will end with a firework finale.

'Blown Away' sits at the heart of The Boyes Garden, adjacent to the Remembrance Centre. This stunning piece by Sioban Coppinger was inspired by T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. The lone figure is crafted from bronze laurel leaves and the plinth, fabricated in mild steel, evokes thoughts of munitions or a ship's funnel. The stripes of bronze represent the adopted strength of brave people facing adversity.

Tickets for this evening's showing of Pretty Woman are on sale until the film starts - they are sent as e-tickets. Join us to enjoy this 1990 film classic as the sun sets.
Doors open: 7.45pm Film starts: 9.15pm
... BOOK YOUR TICKETS: https://thelunacinema.seetickets.com/…/ national-mem…/1208585
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Trench Brothers is a free exhibition at the the Arboretum (available until 30 July 2018) by HMDT Music. It is a creative response to the untold stories of minority ethnic soldiers in the First World War.
Take an ID card to follow the journeys of soldiers from the Indian Army and British West Indies Regiment and uncover details of their story by examining photographic documentation and listening to audio recordings of the letters they sent home. Uniformed model puppets, children’s artwork and interactive elements exploring uniforms and rations also form part of the exhibition. Visitors can take the opportunity to make a poppy with their own message for our special remembrance wall.

The RAF Association Remembrance Garden looking fantastic in the sunshine. The first national Remembrance Garden in memory of all those who have served in the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth air forces. It was opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 28 September 2009. #RAF100
The eagle, named Winston, is made up of over 1,000 hand-forged feathers and is surrounded by a segmented RAF roundel separated into four quarters to depict the RAF Association at the heart of RAF welfare.

Tickets remain available for our outdoor cinema experience tomorrow evening. The weather forecast shows it should be warm and dry, perfect for relaxing in a beautiful woodland setting and enjoying the 1990 classic film Pretty Woman.
Doors open: 7.45pm Film starts: 9.15pm
... BOOK YOUR TICKETS: https://thelunacinema.seetickets.com/…/ national-mem…/1208585
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This week a big #ThursdayThanks to Phytone Ltd who have signed up to support the Arboretum through our new Corporate Friend scheme. Phytone Limited was established in 1989 providing colours and ingredients for the food, beverage and pharmaceuticals industry and are based just up the road from us at Burton on Trent. In 2017 Phytone became part of DuPont.
DuPont Nutrition & Health combines in-depth knowledge of food and nutrition with current research and expert science to deliver unmatched value to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and dietary supplement industries. More information is available at www.food.dupont.com.
To find our how your company can join them as a Corporate Friend see www.thenma.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-c orporate-friend

Our Thank You Youth Festival concluded with a huge gathering in Heroes' Square, where everyone said "Thank You" to the First World War generation.

The Havildar is whipping sepoys into shape, all recruited from St Thomas More School in Stoke on Trent. Just one of the many activities young people are participating during our Thank You Youth Festival.

Hundreds of school children have gathered at the Arboretum for our Thank You Youth Festival; a full day of cross-curricular workshops exploring the invaluable legacy of the First World War generation.
The activities are increasing awareness of the importance of Remembrance, passing on important lessons to members of younger generations, and provides the opportunity for them to say thank you for the sacrifices made by those who lived through the conflict as they learn about t...he radical social and technological changes that occurred as a result of the First World War.
Each participating school has compiled a custom programme of activities that span a variety of subjects, including: History, English, Music, STEM, PE, Geography, Citizenship, and Art.
These include the opportunity for students to be put through their paces by a ‘Sergeant Major’ on a First World War assault course, work alongside artists to discover how dazzle camouflage confounded u-boats, and explore the significant contributions made by ethnic minority soldiers.
Later today the children will come together for a mass end of day thank you event in Heroes’ Square. #ThankYou100
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Families are invited to visit our free interactive RAF experience, launched as part of our programme of activities celebrating the centenary of the formation of the RAF. #RAF100 Families can explore the working environment of an RAF Command and Operations room and get ready for inspection in the RAF billet room, both hosted in converted shipping containers.
Visitors can interact with the props in each container and children can get into character using the dressing up items. The containers are open daily 9am until 5pm and RAF costumed interpreters are available during weekends.

BBC Weather are forecasting 27°c (80°f) in Alrewas on Saturday 🌞 Perfect weather to enjoy our showing of Pretty Woman in our outdoor cinema.
Tickets are £13.50. Make sure to book yours today! https://thelunacinema.seetickets.com/…/ national-mem…/1208585

It's coming home! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚽
Why not join us for one of our Football Legends Guided Walks and discover more about the links between the Armed Forces and the beautiful game. Did you know a number of former England internationals performed national service?

As we draw closer to the centenary of the end of the First World War, The Royal British Legion (our parent charity) is running an initiative to ensure that every soldier that lost their life in the conflict is not forgotten. Please help support Everyone Remembered.

A huge #ThursdayThanks this week to everyone that made last weekend’s Armed Forces event our biggest and best ever, thanks to a superb range of free performances, activities and our lovely event sponsor Briggs Equipment UK who pulled out all the stops.
On the Saturday we learned that our friends at Ride to the Wall had raised an astonishing £150,000 for the Arboretum from their 10th anniversary ride, smashing last year’s record!
Over the course of the weekend your generous individual donations totalled £6,004.12, another record, helping to ensure we can maintain the beautiful grounds and remain free to enter. Well done everyone, give yourselves a pat on the back!

What an amasing place. Everyone should visit at least once. Every member of staff that we came across was very helpful, and, to make the visit even better, both the restaurant and coffee shop were excellent!

We visited as part of a CSMA/ Boundless Rally outing and Mike who is an SAS Veteran showed us round the Special Forces Grove and gave us background information on all the memorials including the reasons for choosing the various plants and colours. Absolutely stunning!

We are socialising a puppy for Veterans with Dogs. A charity that matches dogs with Veterans with PTSD as companions. With his working jacket on he was allowed to interact with visitors in the groves and this was amazing.



Too much to take in on one day, we shall visit again even though we live in Plymouth.

Pity it is not included in the National Curriculum. Without the sacrifice of those commemorated here and all those elsewhere we would not have the Freedoms we enjoy today. We must never forget that.

We are fortunate to live just 6 miles from the arboretum and are regular visitors. The grounds and individual memorials are kept immaculate by the hundreds of volunteers and staff who are always helpful and obliging. Armed forces weekend and Poppy Day are probably the most popular events attended, but there are many other events held at the arboretum all year round it’s a great day out for all the family.

Visited yesterday for the Armed Forces weekend. The event was free just had to pay £3 for all day parking. It was a lovely sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Did plenty of walking as lots and lots of things to see but there is a land train, with recorded commentry, that drives slowly around the main parts, if you don't want / can't walk far and you can get off at certain points if you like - cost is £6 per adult but they do family of 4 tickets. Everything is set out beautifully and there are lots of trees and plenty of seats all over to sit on, commemorative plaques to look at, information huts, statues and gardens. It's also near a river which is nice to walk along. There are dog walking paths too. As it was an event day there were activities for children, tents selling crafts and food, a military band playing and we got to see a spitfire fly over and 4 parachutists jump from a helicopter and land in front of the main armed forces memorial. Would definitely recommend a visit. The place was surprisingly much bigger than I thought it would be. You can take your own food and drink in too. Plenty of grassy areas and shaded areas to use.

Truly, truly moving, my son thankfully survived a tour of Afghanistan, heart wrenching to see his comrades names etched on the memorial plinths...stunning selection of trees, beautiful grounds, lovingly kept, volunteers very friendly and helpful, delicious food in the restaurant, free to enter, suggested donation given, well worth a visit x

This place is beautiful and so calming. Whether you have or have had family/friends in the services, or you just want somewhere to go and walk in a relaxed calm atmosphere, this place has it all. The volunteers are so friendly and helpful. They all do an amazing job.

This is a place that every person in the UK should visit, regardless of your political or religious beliefs or any other views you hold. The Arboretum is dedicated to peace and remembering the fallen of all wars, what ever your views or beliefs we have all had Mother's, Father's Grandmother's Grandfather's and relatives that served or gave in some way for our today. There are many different monuments and statue's that are on display that represent this fact.

The facillities are excellent with first class restaurant, the facillities for elderly and disabled guests is again first class, there is a train for a guided tour and large golf buggies driven by the staff who are all volunteers.

I will definitely be going again in the future as the Arboretum is expanding and changing with new displays.

Set right in the heart of England, this place is 'Must Visit' location. It is by no means a mournful, morbid mausoleum, but a place of peace, celebration and friendly warmth. There is no 'Keep off the Grass' attitude, but plenty of friendly, helpful staff members, many of whom are volunteers.

Once again, a great event put on by NMA, for Armed Forces Day. The kids loved the activities area... A special thanks to the WW1 Sgt, wearing authentic, itchy uniform of the age, in temperatures of 28c, whilst ‘gently beasting’ my 3 year old girl and 7 year old boy, over a very impressive assault course! ( They loved it ).

I don’t know how many ‘sections’ he put over the assault course, but I didn’t see him stop for the 3 hours we were there. Happy to donate for his hard work, enthusiasm and patience with some pretty average recruits!!! Well done.

I also managed a a quiet moment on the hill, with some old friends and ‘brothers’. RIP.

My second visit on Sunday which was unplanned. I dropped in whilst passing towards home. My wife was impressed and so was I. The weather has not been kind to the grass etc but that did not diminish from all the hard work which is now bearing fruit.



I made a special journey across to the Sjot At Dawn section and it was quite moving and very symbolic and poignant with the stakes.



Keep up the good work.

It’s an amazing place. All schools should visit.

This was our second visit and we would certainly go again.

My only criticism would be that there were several members of the armed forces there when we visited. We watched them lining up to pay for drinks, this surprised me considering where we were. If it had been the USA they would not have had to pay!

It was the most amazing and peaceful place. I have been twice now and there is still a lot I haven"t seen yet.

I love the butterfly and forget me not memorial because 4 years ago my husband died and it was possible to donate some of his organs which saved 3 adults and 2 babies lives .

I visited for the first time today, with my partner and his brother from Australia. Wonderful place, full of beautiful memorials and a 5* experience for all of us. All of your staff are friendly, cheerful and extremely helpful and knowledgable. We will be back.

I visit here regular as I do not live many miles away, and I also have a plaque here for my late husband.it is a wonderful and thought provoking place to visit,there are also many things put on for family's to attend,children are especially encouraged after all they are the next generation.

I had such a wonderful weekend. My husband was ex forces and had visited the Arboretum previously. He always wanted to go back so this weekend was for him. He would not have been disappointed. Armed Forces weekend was just THE best. The catering, the staff, and the volunteers. Everything was brilliant. I was disappointed the Lancaster could not do the flypast but it did not dampen my spirits. If I had any negative criticism it would be that in view of the age of a lot of people visiting, there could have been more toilet facilities. There were a few portable toilets about but some of them were not being kept clean. Other than that wonderful

First time coming yesterday for the Armed forces weekend, well worth a visit to the arboretum. Everything was very well organised and all the staff was lovely and friendly. We’ll definitely be back again to have a properlook round.

Fantastic place to go, I've been many times as I don't live to far from the arboretum. Well set out beautifully well maintained, so much to see and ive still not read and seen everything there. And theres more added every time I go, awesome place. Will go again many more times. Keep up the good work everyone involved at the national arboretum.

Arboretum is definitely a place to visit, RBL have spent a lot of money making it into a prime ex-serviceman's attraction. Only thing that peeved me was that we were charged (only £3) to park our cars on a site that was initially a Gunner plot. Ensure you arrive prior to 1100hrs as a Remembrance Service is held in the chapel every day.

An absolutely amazing, humbling place to visit, especially on Armed Forces Weekend.

Everyone was friendly and willing to help.

We've been 3 times and haven't seen everything. The train ride is essential as is a visit to the shop. Everyone should visit at least once.

What an amasing place. Everyone should visit at least once. Every member of staff that we came across was very helpful, and, to make the visit even better, both the restaurant and coffee shop were excellent!

We visited as part of a CSMA/ Boundless Rally outing and Mike who is an SAS Veteran showed us round the Special Forces Grove and gave us background information on all the memorials including the reasons for choosing the various plants and colours. Absolutely stunning!

We are socialising a puppy for Veterans with Dogs. A charity that matches dogs with Veterans with PTSD as companions. With his working jacket on he was allowed to interact with visitors in the groves and this was amazing.



Too much to take in on one day, we shall visit again even though we live in Plymouth.

Pity it is not included in the National Curriculum. Without the sacrifice of those commemorated here and all those elsewhere we would not have the Freedoms we enjoy today. We must never forget that.

We are fortunate to live just 6 miles from the arboretum and are regular visitors. The grounds and individual memorials are kept immaculate by the hundreds of volunteers and staff who are always helpful and obliging. Armed forces weekend and Poppy Day are probably the most popular events attended, but there are many other events held at the arboretum all year round it’s a great day out for all the family.

Visited yesterday for the Armed Forces weekend. The event was free just had to pay £3 for all day parking. It was a lovely sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Did plenty of walking as lots and lots of things to see but there is a land train, with recorded commentry, that drives slowly around the main parts, if you don't want / can't walk far and you can get off at certain points if you like - cost is £6 per adult but they do family of 4 tickets. Everything is set out beautifully and there are lots of trees and plenty of seats all over to sit on, commemorative plaques to look at, information huts, statues and gardens. It's also near a river which is nice to walk along. There are dog walking paths too. As it was an event day there were activities for children, tents selling crafts and food, a military band playing and we got to see a spitfire fly over and 4 parachutists jump from a helicopter and land in front of the main armed forces memorial. Would definitely recommend a visit. The place was surprisingly much bigger than I thought it would be. You can take your own food and drink in too. Plenty of grassy areas and shaded areas to use.

Truly, truly moving, my son thankfully survived a tour of Afghanistan, heart wrenching to see his comrades names etched on the memorial plinths...stunning selection of trees, beautiful grounds, lovingly kept, volunteers very friendly and helpful, delicious food in the restaurant, free to enter, suggested donation given, well worth a visit x

This place is beautiful and so calming. Whether you have or have had family/friends in the services, or you just want somewhere to go and walk in a relaxed calm atmosphere, this place has it all. The volunteers are so friendly and helpful. They all do an amazing job.

This is a place that every person in the UK should visit, regardless of your political or religious beliefs or any other views you hold. The Arboretum is dedicated to peace and remembering the fallen of all wars, what ever your views or beliefs we have all had Mother's, Father's Grandmother's Grandfather's and relatives that served or gave in some way for our today. There are many different monuments and statue's that are on display that represent this fact.

The facillities are excellent with first class restaurant, the facillities for elderly and disabled guests is again first class, there is a train for a guided tour and large golf buggies driven by the staff who are all volunteers.

I will definitely be going again in the future as the Arboretum is expanding and changing with new displays.

Set right in the heart of England, this place is 'Must Visit' location. It is by no means a mournful, morbid mausoleum, but a place of peace, celebration and friendly warmth. There is no 'Keep off the Grass' attitude, but plenty of friendly, helpful staff members, many of whom are volunteers.

Once again, a great event put on by NMA, for Armed Forces Day. The kids loved the activities area... A special thanks to the WW1 Sgt, wearing authentic, itchy uniform of the age, in temperatures of 28c, whilst ‘gently beasting’ my 3 year old girl and 7 year old boy, over a very impressive assault course! ( They loved it ).

I don’t know how many ‘sections’ he put over the assault course, but I didn’t see him stop for the 3 hours we were there. Happy to donate for his hard work, enthusiasm and patience with some pretty average recruits!!! Well done.

I also managed a a quiet moment on the hill, with some old friends and ‘brothers’. RIP.

My second visit on Sunday which was unplanned. I dropped in whilst passing towards home. My wife was impressed and so was I. The weather has not been kind to the grass etc but that did not diminish from all the hard work which is now bearing fruit.



I made a special journey across to the Sjot At Dawn section and it was quite moving and very symbolic and poignant with the stakes.



Keep up the good work.

It’s an amazing place. All schools should visit.

This was our second visit and we would certainly go again.

My only criticism would be that there were several members of the armed forces there when we visited. We watched them lining up to pay for drinks, this surprised me considering where we were. If it had been the USA they would not have had to pay!

It was the most amazing and peaceful place. I have been twice now and there is still a lot I haven"t seen yet.

I love the butterfly and forget me not memorial because 4 years ago my husband died and it was possible to donate some of his organs which saved 3 adults and 2 babies lives .

I visited for the first time today, with my partner and his brother from Australia. Wonderful place, full of beautiful memorials and a 5* experience for all of us. All of your staff are friendly, cheerful and extremely helpful and knowledgable. We will be back.

I visit here regular as I do not live many miles away, and I also have a plaque here for my late husband.it is a wonderful and thought provoking place to visit,there are also many things put on for family's to attend,children are especially encouraged after all they are the next generation.

I had such a wonderful weekend. My husband was ex forces and had visited the Arboretum previously. He always wanted to go back so this weekend was for him. He would not have been disappointed. Armed Forces weekend was just THE best. The catering, the staff, and the volunteers. Everything was brilliant. I was disappointed the Lancaster could not do the flypast but it did not dampen my spirits. If I had any negative criticism it would be that in view of the age of a lot of people visiting, there could have been more toilet facilities. There were a few portable toilets about but some of them were not being kept clean. Other than that wonderful

First time coming yesterday for the Armed forces weekend, well worth a visit to the arboretum. Everything was very well organised and all the staff was lovely and friendly. We’ll definitely be back again to have a properlook round.

Fantastic place to go, I've been many times as I don't live to far from the arboretum. Well set out beautifully well maintained, so much to see and ive still not read and seen everything there. And theres more added every time I go, awesome place. Will go again many more times. Keep up the good work everyone involved at the national arboretum.

Arboretum is definitely a place to visit, RBL have spent a lot of money making it into a prime ex-serviceman's attraction. Only thing that peeved me was that we were charged (only £3) to park our cars on a site that was initially a Gunner plot. Ensure you arrive prior to 1100hrs as a Remembrance Service is held in the chapel every day.

An absolutely amazing, humbling place to visit, especially on Armed Forces Weekend.

Everyone was friendly and willing to help.

We've been 3 times and haven't seen everything. The train ride is essential as is a visit to the shop. Everyone should visit at least once.