Sir James Hawley KCVO, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, is to lead the congregation which will include senior representatives of the Government and Her Majesty's Armed Forces, including the Principal Personnel Officers of the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force

The Armed Forces Memorial is designed so that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when a two minute silence is called in remembrance of the cessation of First World War hostilities, a shaft of sunlight dissects its inner and outer walls, hitting the central bronze wreath sculpture.

Complementing the Cenotaph in London, which commemorates specifically the victims of the First and Second World Wars, the Armed Forces Memorial is the nation's tribute to the 16,000 Service men and women who have died on duty, or as a result of terrorism, since 1948. It is an icon for contemporary Remembrance and its towering Portland Stone walls are added to annually, including the names of the 112 Servicemen lost in 2010.

The centrally-located National Memorial Arboretum, which part of The Royal British Legion family, is home to over 150 acres of trees and some 200 memorials devoted to the theme of Remembrance.

Anniversary Year

This is a special year as it marks both the 90th anniversary of The Royal British Legion and the 10th anniversary of the National Memorial Arboretum.

Interview bids:
Please note that all media will need accreditation for this event
Bids for Mr Nick Harvey MP, Vice Admiral Sir John Dunt, Major General Andrew Farquhar, Mr John Crisford and Reverend Vic Van Den Bergh to Kate Habberley: kate.habberley@talapr.co.uk.

Interview opportunities with and families representing conflicts since the Second World War, including:

Major (Retd) John Phillips DSC, Falklands
John enlisted into the Army Apprentices School, Beachley, Chepstow in August 1958, aged 15 years. On completion of his apprenticeship, he joined the Royal Engineers in June 1961 and later became qualified in the art of bomb disposal.  During the Falklands Campaign, in May 1982, he diffused an unexploded bomb in the boiler-room of HMS ARGONAUT, for which he received a Distinguished Service Cross for 'courage of the highest order'.

Tony Matthews, Northern Ireland
Tony joined the army as a boy solider in May 1968.  His first posting was to 4th Regiment Royal Artillery in Munsterlager, north Germany.  He went on his first tour of Northern Ireland in April 1972 and a second (six month) tour in 1976 where he was given his own half section, replacing a colleague who had broken his leg.  Following a six month tour of Belize in 1977 the Regiment then went on to travel the world.  When it moved to Osnabruck in Germany in April 1984, Tony served in a variety of roles, including Welfare Sergeant from 1989 to 1992.  He now works for West Midlands Police and as a Volunteer at the National Memorial Arboretum. 

Ray Bristow, Gulf
As a warrant officer in the Territorial Army, Ray volunteered to serve in the Gulf conflict.  Based in Saudi Arabia as a medical theatre technician, he was the third generation of his family to see active service within the medical corps (his grandfather during World War One and his father during the Korean War). However, after 20 years’ service with the Territorial Army, Ray was medically discharged soon after returning to the UK, as he was suffering the symptoms of ‘Gulf War Syndrome’.  Ray is also a former director and trustee of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association.

Frank Shorter, Korea
During a long military career Frank served with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, the Coldstream Guards and the Sherwood Foresters.  He served with the Royal Leicestershire Regiment in Korea in the role of a stretcher jeep driver, took him into the minefields three or four times a day to pick up wounded and dead comrades.  Frank is one of more than 100 volunteers who regularly give up their time and energy to work at the National Memorial Arboretum.

For more information:
Kate Habberley, The Royal British Legion
T: 07943 333362 E: kate.habberley@talapr.co.uk   

Wreaths on the central sculpture of the Armed Forces Memorial

Click here for a timetable of the Armistice Day programme