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Visit to The National Memorial Arboretum (November 2011)
![Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (DSFC)](javascript:PopupPic("/military/images/nma11_1.jpg");)
On 1st November 2011 half of 10 Entry boarded a coach to travel to the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire as part of the process leading up to Armistice Day. For many of us it was the first time we had ever visited this sombre yet incredibly meaningful place. It was opened in 2001 and has 200 memorials of varying sizes spread over a 150 acre site. We had a pre-planned route of 10 memorials that were considered to be meaningful as Welbexians, and at each memorial a student gave a talk surrounding a brief history of the Service and how this may relate to Welbexians. The talks also included an example of how the Service had a story that could be related to the Value and Standards of the British Army, which Welbexians consider to be very important and try to follow as closely as possible.
We began at the Royal Engineers Memorial, then moved to cover the other Army Corps memorials followed by memorials for the RAF and RN. We also visited several other memorials including ones such as ‘Shot at Dawn’ commemorating those killed for acts of desertion during WWI. We also visited a memorial commemorating POWs captured in WWII that were forced to build a railway through Japan. We then had free time in which we were allowed to look around at our own pace or visit the gift shop and cafe for refreshments.
![Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (DSFC)](javascript:PopupPic("/military/images/nma11_2.jpg");)
The day at the Arboretum was concluded by a ceremony at the main memorial perched on the hill which commemorates members of the Armed Forces killed since the end of WWII. After looking at the names of the servicemen and women killed (including those that attended Welbeck DSFC in previous entries) we formed up around the centre of the memorial where a wreath was laid by Quinn Sorabjee, our Head of College.
Overall it was an eye opening day, acknowledging the huge amount of people that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It allowed us all to pay our respects in our own ways at the same time as hearing some interesting stories about the various regiments and people that have laid down their lives while serving in them.
Tom Lear, Alanbrooke 10E
