The National Memorial Arboretum

I had thought the National Memorial Arboretum was a military museum. In a way, it is, but when I visited, I found that it is so much more than that. 

If you visit this autumn, the autumn leaves of its 25,000 trees set within a 150-acre site will be amazing. Part of the arboretum is bordered by the meandering River Tame. Take your time to wander around the collection of over 400 memorials. There are memorials, as I expected, to almost every aspect of the military from the first world war to the current time (covering the army, navy and air force) but there are also memorials dedicated to all the armed services, including the police and prison officers. The Quakers also have a memorial for their Friends Relief Service, established in 1939 to ‘relieve civilian distress’. There are memorials dedicated to everyone affected by terrorism overseas; lifeboat crew members; the women’s land army and timber corps; the army dental corps; the scouts; and Jewish ex-service men and women … to name just a few of the things I hadn’t really expected.

At the Polish armed forces memorial, I learned that Poland gave the UK replicas of the German enigma coding machine with accompanying technical information and three Polish mathematicians broke the code in the 1930s.

If I tried to list all the conflict zones and elements of the armed forces, I would be sure to miss out one that is important to someone in Barrow on Soar. So, instead, I shall talk about some of the surprises and memorials that most moved me. Some 309 posts stand silent in the Shot at Dawn memorial, dedicated to those men shot for dereliction of duty in the first world war. These posts have plaques with names – they are mostly privates and mostly very, very young. There’s a larger-than-life statue of a young man, blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back, buttons and insignia removed from his uniform as a sign of disgrace, facing six trees which represent the, probably equally young and frightened men chosen for the firing squad. It was not until November 2006 that the government gave a posthumous pardon to all those executed for military offences. Today we would recognise that these men were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A happier memorial – a single fairground carousel horse – has been donated by the Showmen’s Guild to recognise the voluntary work of fairground people. In World War 1, fairground steam engines and horses helped with forestry and other Amazing Museums The National Memorial Arboretum heavy work. Money was raised to pay for 19 ambulances and during World War 2 the fairground people donated a Spitfire called ‘Fun of the Fair’ which was flown by a Polish squadron. The Guild also helped morale on the home front by staging government-promoted ‘stay-at-home’ fairs in cities and towns.

The Edward’s Trust has a Tree of Remembrance supporting children and families facing loss and suffering bereavement. Individuals can arrange to have the names of loved ones engraved onto metal leaves which then hang from the tree.

The Bevin Boys are remembered. These were the 48,000 18-24 year-old men who were sent to work in the British coal mines in order to relieve more experienced miners to move onto coal 
production and at the coal face.

Throughout the woods, individual plaques have been placed by families wanting to dedicate their cherished memories to family members who have died; there are benches with plaques, one of which held the names of both a lance corporal and a major – death does not recognise difference of rank; and right-up-to-date are Lockdown Landscapes: memory benches for all the young people affected by Covid. Artist Alix Smith worked with young people to explore their pandemic experiences. So much more than just a military museum!

The National Memorial Arboretum is at Alrewas near Lichfield. Car parking is £6 for the day – but that includes entry for everyone in the car. There’s an excellent restaurant and regular, changing exhibitions and memorials – when I visited, there was information about the war contribution of the Windrush generation. If you have mobility difficulty, you can arrange access to a mobility scooter (check in advance) or you could jump onto the little ‘train’ which gives guided tours around the site.

Take a look at their website at: https://www.thenma.org.uk/ for all their information and up-to-date news of events. It’s well worth a visit.

Karisa Krcmar