The garden, located at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, is one of over 200 dedicated memorials established on the site remembering those who have served and continue to serve the UK. The new design by RNLI supporter Chris Beardshaw serves to take visitors to the garden on a ‘rescue journey’ showing the relationship between the crew, the rescued person and their families – all of whose lives become woven together during a rescue mission.

‘The centre of the garden represents the harbour – seclusion, and safety,’ explains Chris. ‘And then, beyond that is a circular path that takes you on the journey that a rescuer would take – out into a more turbulent seas, and back into the harbour with those rescued.’

RNLI volunteers raised the funds required to create the plot at the Arboretum 10 years ago, establishing a garden which had a sculpture of a lifeboatman as its centrepiece. The sculpture, created by Andrew Fitchett, retains pride of place in the garden and was carefully integrated into the new design.

Chris, who officially re-opened the garden on Thursday 8 September, says of his involvement: "To me this is a project that I couldn’t say 'no' to. I sail and dive and I’ve seen what the RNLI does first hand so I’m a great supporter of the charity. With this site – among so many other memorial gardens – the design needed to be strong and provide its own presence. The design aims to remind the visitor that there are individuals prepared to put themselves at risk and sacrifice their time, effort and ultimately their lives, to save those in trouble at sea."

Pastel blues and pinks dominate those areas representing the safety of land with subtle changes in the planting to tonally more turbulent colours of reds and yellows indicating the passage into more energised waters and the intensity of the rescue.

Representing the RNLI volunteers who established the garden, Philip Theaker, comments: "It’s important for the RNLI to have a site here and it’s been a pleasure to see the garden develop over the years. The new design makes the garden incredibly user friendly enabling visitors to learn about the charity’s lifesaving work and to pay their respects to RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews, including those who have lost their lives while helping others."

RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Julia Sylvester, RNLI Public Relations Officer on 01202 663184 or julia_sylvester@rnli.org.uk. Or contact the RNLI PR Office on 01202 336789.

RNLI online
For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press

National Memorial Arboretum Media Contact
Andrew Baud who can be contacted on 020 3397 3383 or andrew.baud@talapr.co.uk