NMA unveils initial visuals for world-class Remembrance Centre

23 November 2009

£8 million redevelopment includes Armed Forces Pavilion, Heroes' Square and Education Centre

Following the launch of the £8 million NMA Future Foundations Appeal in April, the National Memorial Arboretum has today unveiled initial visuals for the new buildings which will transform the 150 acre site into a world-class Centre for Remembrance.

With consistently strong public support for Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and increasing recognition of the heroic sacrifices made in Iraq and Afghanistan, annual visitor numbers to the Arboretum have increased fivefold to 300,000 in just two years. This number is predicted to rise to nearer half a million a year as word about this unique national memorial spreads and the Nation wishes to remember and pay homage to all those who are giving their lives for their country.

The centrally-located Arboretum, which was opened in 2001, is home to 160 memorials devoted to the theme of Remembrance and has seen the planting of over 50,000 trees across its glorious riverside grounds in Staffordshire.

The Arboretum is home to the iconic Armed Forces Memorial, the nation's tribute to the 16,000 Service personnel who have died on duty, or as a result of terrorism, since shortly after the end of the Second World War. In Spring 2010 it is also set to become home to the Basra Wall, which is being re-erected currently following the drawdown of Armed Forces from Iraq earlier this year.

Armed Forces Pavilion

The goal of the NMA Future Foundations Appeal, of which HRH Prince William is Patron, is to create a Remembrance Centre which will include a Armed Forces Pavilion and "Heroes' Square" – fitting venues in which the Arboretum's 200 Remembrance events each year, can be hosted.

Major-General Patrick Cordingley, who commanded the Desert Rats in the first Gulf War and is Chairman of the NMA Future Foundations Appeal, said: "The Arboretum has become a place in which the Nation comes to remember and pays tribute to our Armed Forces. I've met noone who has failed to be incredibly moved by their visit here, especially when seeing the massed ranks of names on the towering Portland Stone walls of the Armed Forces Memorial.

Heroes' Square with new canopy

"Such is the popularity of the Arboretum, especially around Remembrance time, that we're now forced to hold major events on a muddy field and host veterans in semi-permanent marquees. It's not good enough and we must better honour the memory of those that have gone before us.

"I'm fearful too, that having completely outgrown our educational facilities, and with schools clamouring to book a visit, we are failing to adequately spread a vitally important message to future generations."

Donations to the Appeal can be made via our JustGiving page or by sending cheques payable to the "National Memorial Arboretum" to: The NMA Future Foundations Appeal Office, 1 Fitzgerald Road, London, SW14 8HA.

For more information and images:
Andrew Baud, NMA Future Foundations Appeal, 07775 715775, andrew.baud@talapr.co.uk

A video walk through of the new design is shown below.