The Shot at Dawn Memorial commemorates 309 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were shot for desertion, cowardice, striking a senior officer, disobeying a lawful order, casting away arms, mutiny and sleeping at post during the First World War. Most of them were sentenced after a short trial at which no real opportunity for defence was allowed.

Today, it is recognised that some were underage when they volunteered and that many of them were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was not recognised as a medical condition until 1980. In 2006 they were officially pardoned by the British Government.

Deliberately located at the most easterly part of the National Memorial Arboretum where the sun rises first, Shot at Dawn, was dedicated in 2001, with wooden posts representing each soldier. *

The central statue ‘Shot at Dawn’ represents a young soldier about to be shot. The six trees facing the posts represent the firing squad, all aiming for the target around the statue’s neck. It must have been traumatic for them too, having to shoot one of their own.*

*Information displayed next to the memorial

The UK Police Memorial hpnours the courage and sacrifice of those who have given their lives to UK plicing. The design embraces the Celtic spiritual concept of a thin place, where we step from one world to another. Contrasts in light and shade, the wild and the controlled, add to the experience of a serene yet powerful space.*

The central 12-metre-high brass structure represents the threshold to the dangerous places the Police must go, but sadly, from which some will never return. Leaf shaped apertures cut out of these screens give the impression of falling leaves, to represent service and sacrilfice, the imagery representing those fallen police officers and staff.*

*quoted from the 2023 edition of the National Memorial Arboretum handbook

All across Europe, behind gates such as these, over 350,000 service personnel were held as Prisoners of War, existing on the most basic of rations in crowded unsanitary and barely tolerable donditions for up to 5 years.

Fir some repatriation came early due to serious medical reasons or non-combatant status, whilst others were liberated directly from their camps by advancing allied armies. For most, however, freedom came only after forced marches of up to 880 km, starting in 1945, during the harshest winter on record at the time; across open hostile countryside and often at risk of friendly fire.*

*Quoted from a memorial plaque next to the gates

The core theme of this memorial is, ‘At the going down of the sun, we will remember them’

The Memorial shows a single figure facing towards the setting sun, head bowed in respect to shipmates. The figure’s cap is hel in the ‘at ease’ position. Coloured glass sails diffuse light onto a light granite pavement, their colours take inspiration from the five Oceans. Flashes of red represent blood spilled at sea, on land and in the air in defence of our nation. In bright sunlight and for a time every day, the glass panels cast a shadow suggesting the shape of warship whichis in th direct gaze of the figure; the shapes changing as the sun moves across the sky.*

*Information from a signboard next to the memorial

The iconic fin is instantly recognisable, while moving between the two sections gives a sense of confinement onboard a submarine. The solitary figure, perhaps looking up to where danger may come from or to the surface of the sea and its promise of  fresh air and sunlight, gives a human scale and a focal point for acts if renenbrance.

It is ten years since my previous visit to the National Memorial Arboretum. The Memorial Arboretum is still as peaceful and moving as I remembered. There are now over 400 memorials so it is impossible to see them all during one visit.

This year this the 80^th anniversary of the D-Day landings so the Arboretum is exploring the events of WWII and people that were affected by them.

We chose this as the theme for our visit whereas our previous visit in 2014 followed a First World War Centenary trail centred on WWI memorials.

When we arrived, we had lunch before visiting ‘The Year Was 1944’ exhibition. This culminates in a moving film by sand artist Kseniya Simonova. She manipulates sand to trace the journey of one man and his family from the outbreak of war through the beaches of Normandy and on to the present day.

By the end of the film, I felt quite emotional.

We then walked around the Arboretum taking in highlighted memorials relevant to the events of 1944. The route also introduced me to memorials that I hadn’t seen on my previous visit.

There is still another area that I haven’t yet explored in the outer meadow and woodland area of the Arboretum…

Heraclitus

The men and women of our Armed and Merchant Services who have lost their lives in conflict, as a result of terrorist action or on training exercises since the end of  World War II are remembered here. Unlike the World War memorials in towns and villages across the Nation, there is nowhere else that records almost 16,000 names of those who have been killed on active duty in recent times.

Since 1945 the men and women  of the Armed and Merchant Services have taken part in more that 50 operations and conflicts across the world, often as part of  United Nations, NATO or other international coalitions. These actions have ranged from hot war to peacekeeping; from humanitarian assistance to fighting terrorism; from the jungles of Malaysia to the storms of the South Atlantic; from the seaport of Aden to the streets of Northern Ireland.

It is not just service men and women who have made sacrifices. Behind every name on the Memorial there are the wives, husbands, partners, parents, children and colleagues who loved them and who will live with the pain and consequences of their loss every day.*

The Memorial is a stunning piece of architecture designed by Liam O’Connor which draws its inspiration from the ancient landscapes of prehistoric Britain and the classical forms of Ancient Rome. It consists of a six metre high earth mound, 100 metres wide at the base reducing to just 50 metes wide at the top,  which is based on  early British barrows or tumuli. The spiral walkway up the grassy, tree-planted slopes provides accessibility to people of all ages and mobility. At the top of the mound stands a 43 metre  diameter stone structure, comprising two curved walls and trow straight walls which are constructed of 200.000 bricks faced with Portland stone panels.

The Memorial is particularly important for the many families and friends who have no grave to visit, or who remember those graves in far-off places. The Memorial plays a valuable role in helping all who grieve for a Service person to come to terms with their loss, by providing focus for their grief as they pass through the different stages of their lives.*

At the centrepiece of the memorial two evocative bronze sculptures, the embodiment of loss and sacrifice. Created by Ian Rank-Broadley,  best known for his image of HM Queen Elizabeth II which has appeared on all UK and Commonwealth coinage since 1988, the sculptures bear silent witness to the cost of the armed conflict.*

*From the National Memorial Arboretum Guidebook Edition 4

The Basra Memorial Wall is a truly poignant monument to the 178 UK service personnel and one Ministry of Defence (MoD) civilian who lost their lives on combat operations in Iraq and also lists members of Coalition Forces who were killed whilst under UK command during six years of conflict.

The original memorial was built in Basra in 2006 and stood outside the front of the Head quarters of the Multi-National Division (South East). Following the end of operations, the Basra Memorial Wall was brought back to the UK and rebuilt. The original  wall was built and dismantled, and the new wall constructed at the Arboretum by British soldiers from 37th Armoured Engineer Squadron in a personal gesture to commemorate their fallen comrades.

The brass plaques on this memorial are the originals place on the wall when it was in situ in BAsra, Iraq. The Plaques are cleaned twice a year; before the anniversary of the end of combat operations in Iraq and before Armistice, but in between they will be allowed to weather naturally. This will allow the detail on these original plaques to last for as long as possible for the benefit of future generations.*

*From the National Memorial Arboretum Guidebook Edition 4