The National Memorial Arboretum: Thirty Years On

Through God’s good grace, through strength of English oak, / We have preserved our faith, our throne, our land; / Now, with our freedom saved from tyrant’s yoke, / We plant these trees, Remember, why they stand!

Those words by Kenyon Gower were chosen by King George VI for a plaque to be placed at the Oak Tree Cross in Windsor Great Park. They might well also be felt appropriate as a summary of the reason behind the creation of The National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) at Alrewas in Staffordshire, especially as the tribute to the Royal Navy, the Naval Review plot, consists of a collection of oak trees as does the Merchant Navy Convoy where 2,535 oak trees were planted, each one commemorating a British flagged merchant ship sunk during the Second World War.

The Navy were involved in the NMA:  from its conception in 1988; through the Appeal launch by the Rt Hon John Major in November 1994, and the first plantings in 1997. Principally, it was the enthusiasm for the scheme by the then 2SL that enabled the word to be passed along service lines inviting groups and individuals to become involved. That involvement had many different roots but, principally and originally, it was focused on trees being planted in tribute to the ships’ company of specific ships. Thus, a tree was dedicated by survivors of HMS Glowworm, in which Lt Cdr Gerard Roope won a posthumous Victoria Cross for ramming the Hipper. The survivors of Captain Louis Mountbatten’s ship, HMS Kelly, sunk during the evacuation of Crete, were delighted that his nephew, Prince Charles, could join them at their tree planting.  When the Prince came to sign the visitors book, he found the pen scratchy and asked for another. One of the trustees, with pharmaceutical links, quickly produced a biro, on whose side was clearly written the word ‘Viagra’. “Hmm,” said the prince, “that could be the name of a warship, HMS Viagra.” The trees also bring back to the shore tributes to those men whose graves are the sea; those who went down with ships such as Neptune, Dunedin, Hood and Royal Oak; on every occasion such trees are dedicated the naval prayer is recited, Last Post is played and a scent of the sea is felt far inland.

The Navy may have had its oak trees but for the Royal Marines it was felt more appropriate to plant alders, trees that don’t mind getting their feet wet. Among these have been placed memorials to the Commandos in the form of a reproduction of part of their badge; the wreath in copper and the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife in stainless steel. This was dedicated in the presence of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Although the NMA consists mainly of trees it does also include other forms of memorial. On one occasion the NMA was contacted by the (Glasgow) Daily Herald to be told that its article bringing readers’ attention to the desire to build a cairn at the NMA with each rock coming from the side of a Loch after which the Loch-class frigates had been named, had resulted in a pile of such rocks almost blocking its entrance. Another plinth was dedicated by the First Destroyer Association whose Hunt-class vessels had been the workhorses of the Royal Navy throughout the Second World War, including HMS Aldenham, whose loss to a mine off the Dalmatian coast on 14 December 1944, made her the last RN ship sunk by enemy action during the war. When Churchill ordered British troops to seize the Dodecanese Islands in the wake of the Italian surrender, two of the ships running the dark and dangerous night time supply route were, HMS Hurworth, which also struck a mine and went down with the loss of 143 lives, while trying to rescue the ship’s company of the Greek manned destroyer, Adrias, ex-HMS Border. Adrias stayed afloat but, with her bow blown off, had to beach on the Turkish coast to make repairs before making an epic stern-first voyage of over 400 miles to Alexandria. It is for the keeping of such stories alive that the NMA exists its remit, to pay a living tribute to the war time generations of the 20th century for future generations to reflect upon and enjoy. We, the present generation, are merely the jackstay along which this link can be passed.

Other plots were created to commemorate specific incidents. The Yangtse Incident Plot has trees planted for HMS Amethyst and the vessels that supported her from downstream, HM Ships Black Swan, Consort and London.  The trees include two Chinese Maidenhair trees, Ginko biloba, as well as an encircling hedge of 46 shrubs, one for each of the sailors who lost his life. In front of the Review is a small garden which commemorates the loss of HMS Antelope in the Falklands War. Nearby is a tree planted by Lady Fieldhouse, in tribute to her husband, Admiral the Lord Fieldhouse, who as C-in-C Fleet commanded the RN Task Force during Operation CORPORATE.

Another, charming garden was created for the WRNS and designed to display shrubs, such as lavender and buddleia, that not only reflect the colour of their uniform but also attract birds and butterflies. The garden incorporates the Aguila memorial, a beautifully carved wren which commemorates the twenty-one WRNS and one Naval Nursing Sister who were lost when SS Aguila was torpedoed in 1941.

One year, the NMA was visited by a retired Norwegian naval officer, Finn Stumeon, who has spent the war running clandestine operations out of the Shetland Islands but had time to fall in love and marry a Scottish lass. Impressed by what he had seen at the NMA, Finn returned with 30 silver birch saplings that he had raised on his farm in Norway, and had them planted in an Avenue, each one representing a RNorN ship lost in the Second World War.

Beyond the Review the Merchant Navy Convoy also has its stories to tell. In its centre is a grove dedicated to all those who lost their lives (possibly as many as 7,000) when HMT Lancastria was bombed in St. Nazaire harbour on 17 June 1940, endeavouring to complete the evacuation that had taken place from Dunkirk some days earlier. At the time, Churchill, determined to retain the euphoria of Dunkirk, placed a press ban on reporting the catastrophe. When the survivors and relatives mustered to dedicate their grove many thought that the loss was at last being recognised.

In the front of The Convoy is a plaque beside a tree dedicated to those who lost their lives when SS Athenia was sunk on 3 September 1939, the first British merchant ship to be lost.

On 15^th June 2014 over 1,500 naval veterans joined serving members and cadets at the unveiling, in the presence of Prince Michael of Kent, of the first all-inclusive tribute to those who served in every branch of the RN, the RFA, the WRNS  and their support services. Taking the form of 13 ‘sails’ of coloured glass which face westward and light up, “at the going down of the sun” the Naval Service Memorial reflects the shape of a ship in front of a bowed figure. This startling monument, commissioned by the Royal Naval Association, is aimed to remind visitors of the oceans of the world.

Both the Fleet Air Arm and the Submariners have their own memorials. The former takes the form of a granite carved sculpture of an aircraft carrier ‘afloat’ upon a white rounded plinth. The Submariners’ memorial is represented by a split conning tower through which people can walk past a life size submariner and recall not only the 5,349 submariners and the 170 boats lost since the service’s inception just over 120 years ago but also the families they left behind. It was dedicated on 18 May 2023 in the presence of the Duke of Cambridge, Commodore-in-Chief Submarines.

Above all the National Memorial Arboretum was created to be a living tribute to those who had served their country both in the last century and in this present one. This desire is epitomised by the Armed Forces Memorial which dominates the site and was built to record the names of the 16,000 service men and women who had lost their lives in active service since the end of the Second World War. Of course, the longest list of naval casualties is linked to the Falkland War but there are many more. To take but two at random. Under 2006, is listed the name of Lt Cdr Darren Chapman of 847 Squadron who died when his Lynx helicopter blew up in midair over Basra while, under 2011 is recorded the name of Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux who was shot by a rating in HMS Astute whilst trying to protect the lives of two members of his ship’s company.

The Armed Forces Memorial has no dedicated epitaph but if it did it might be along the lines of this;

Remember, when you read our names all listed here / We served you well, that service cost us dear

For the NMA, now a part of the Royal British Legion, has become the nation’s focus for year- round remembrance. With over 400 memorials placed among the trees it might be considered a sombre place to walk around. If so then it has failed. For the trees are living symbols, planted in hope for a peaceful future, not to remember death but the life of very special individuals, well-lived in joy, love and companionship. An exemplar of this spirit is ex-Leading Wren Air Mechanic Sue Elliott who, coming across the NMA over 30 years ago when it was a wilderness of mud and rank grass, not a tree in sight, volunteered to be a helper and now an octogenaian, still spends a couple of days a week on site, having cycled in. In that time no task, however messy, lengthy boring or gross has Sue not been willing to turn to and work on – and always with a smile. Thus, the spirit of the Arboretum is captured in the service of one individual.