Tracking the Progress of the Garden As It's Built - Week by Week

To view the latest update, please click here to view the main Remembrance Garden page

If you would like to find out about a Remembrance Cross or Stone, please click here

31 August 2009

Rem_Garden_31.08.09 Rem_Garden_31.08.09_2 Work on the main garden continues apace with much progress being made to the path around the garden and the area around the central feature.

Now covered in a final coat of cement a final chemical fix has been applied to the segments and the tiles will start to be fixed in a week’s time.

The main “flight path” has now been grouted and the finished item looks fantastic, we just need to fill the channels with gravel and this section will be complete.

Work on the Eagle also continues. More feathers have been ordered and as you can see from the pictures, the eagle which has been nicknamed Winston by the forge has started to sprout feathers. These picture show just how magnificent he will look when he is finished.

Plans for the opening ceremony are going well and applications for tickets has been steady. Over 70 Branch standards have registered to take part so far but there is always room for more.

You can still apply for tickets by phoning the ticket hotline 0800 0182361. As you can imagine with The Princess Royal opening the garden security will be tight, so admission can only be by pre registered ticket, so don miss out on your chance to take part in this prestigious event.

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21 August

Progress is good. Taking advantage of the good weather this week, we have managed to pour the concrete into the mould for the main plinth and the roundel segments.

The hot sun has dried the concrete enough for the wooden shuttering to be removed. This will now form the base on to which the marble facing will be mounted.

With the cement topping on the segments the coloured tiles can start to be fixed into place when they arrive next week.

The main “flight path” has now been grouted and the finished item looks fantastic. The path around the entire garden is beginning to take shape as does the paving between the segments.

The weather has play its part in delaying the progress as the pictures show we did consider changing the design to incorporate a water feature.

The Stainless steel segments are now bolted to their foundations and filled with road stone. Hopefully the weather will be good enough this week to allow the top concrete skin to be poured into place. This will form the surface for the coloured tiles which make up the roundel. At the same time the concrete can be poured into the central feature to form the mounting block for the marble plinth.

Interest in the eagle on the globe increases as this week the BBC visited the forge in Anwick to film the latest progress.

The problems with the continents for the globe have now been solved and these should be welded into place shortly.

The internal structure for the eagle has now been constructed and the camera team from BBC Look North filmed the first feathers being welding into place. You may have noticed the strange coloured head that the eagle is currently sporting. Blacksmiths often use plasticine to model and shape particularly complicated processes and shows how particular solid parts of metal work will look, and as you can see this head really bring our beast to life. The Eagle also took its first steps outside as it was mounted on top of a gas cylinder which is the same height as the plinth will be, to demonstrate just how majestic our eagle will be.

Plans for the official opening of the garden are now well under way. On the 28th September. We can confirm that the Garden will be officially opened by a member of the Royal family.

The invitation request telephone line is now open and you can reserve your place at the Opening by calling 0800 0182 361

To view the diary progressing the build of the garden, click here

30 July 2009

A great deal has happened since the last update.

The stone for the path has been delivered and despite the terrible weather Jamie has started to lay the stones on the main “Flight Path” under a special gazebo.

Following a couple of days later the Stainless steel segments were delivered from the metal polishers and are lifted into place. The pictures show the brilliance of the finished product and give a hint to how magnificent the garden will look when it is finished.

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The next stage will be to bolt the segments to their foundations and fill them with road stone before applying the final top concrete skin. This will form the surface for the coloured tiles which make up the roundel.

We are waiting for a window of about 4 days good weather so that the concrete can be poured into the central feature to form the mounting block for the marble plinth.

Rem_Garden_30.07.09_globe_cont Rem_Garden_30.07.09_feather_blank Progress on the central feature progresses well with hundreds of feathers of all sizes being forged by hand. The process involves laser cutting the shape and hand finishing each one to give it individuality. There are a number of different sized feathers depending which part of the bird they are attached to.

“The continents for the globe are proving the most difficult process so far”, as Tim Mackereth the Rem_Garden_30.07.09_drawing blacksmith explains. The continents of the world have to fold around the surface of the globe through 360 degrees which has given the smiths a real challenge. Judging by the pictures they have found an elegant solution to the problem.

The internal structure for the eagle is being mapped out in a life sized drawing before work starts on its construction. A mock up of the internal skeleton made in iron currently sits atop the globe.

Plans for the official opening of the garden are now well under way. The date is confirmed as the 28th September. The invitation request telephone line is now open and you can reserve your place at the unveiling by calling 0800 0182 361 or click here for more information.

July 2nd 2009

This week the central mounting post for the eagle statue has been bolted into the concrete foundation. This will provide the core stability for the statue. It needs to withstand the worst that the British weather can throw at it, and as such, is a substantial piece of kit. The post will then be encased in concrete, the latest pictures show the shuttering around the base which forms the mould into which the concrete is poured.

Once the concrete has set, the resultant block will provide the base for the decorative marble facings.

Rem_Garden_-_15_July_2009_4 The central feature, eagle on the globe continues to sprout feathers as Anwick forge adds to an ever growing pile of hand forged feathers. The forge are now working on the main internal skeleton of the eagle, on to which are welded the feathers and features of the bird. We hope to bring you pictures of this progress soon.

The segments of the roundel are currently in Birmingham, having their polishing treatment.

Plans for the official opening of the garden are also under way. The date is confirmed as the 28th September. The invitation request telephone line will be opened over the next couple of weeks. Watch this space for more detail.

July 2nd 2009

This will take place on the 28th September. Further details and timings will be released as soon as they become available.

Work on the Remembrance Garden continues steadily, not made easy this week by temperatures up in the high eighties, which is great if you are visiting the NMA and not so great if you are working hard laying hard core and setting foundations.

Rem_Garden_2_02.07.09 Rem_Garden_3_02.07.09 The entire footprint of the garden is now cut out and a full layer of crushed stone and rock has been delivered to the site and rolled flat. This means that the garden is now ready for a final layer of small grade stone before the natural stone for the path is delivered and laid.

Rem_Garden_02.07.09 Jamie, from Scott Developments, who is building the Remembrance Garden has had a little help this week from The Army. On site to upgrade one of the Army memorials the Royal Engineers and Ghurkhas lent a hand with one of their heavy-duty off road load handlers.

Rem_Garden_5_02.07.09 The foundation for the central statue has now been laid in concrete, ready for the main support post which will be fitted next week. This post will provide the stability and foundation for the eagle statue.

We have also placed a banner on safety fence to identify where our garden is going to be placed so if you are visiting the NMA in the next few weeks go and have a look at the progress made so far for yourself.

June 23rd 2009

June_2009_-_Rem_Garden_Aerial_View The diggers have moved on to the site, and it is very exciting to see progress being made on a daily basis, following the four long years it has taken to get the garden to this stage.

Following the painted lines the construction team have dug out the route of the path and the entire central part of the garden. Enough soil to fill six tipper trucks has already been removed.

The next stage will be to lay hardcore which will give the garden a good foundation and provide drainage. The first load of hardcore arrived on site this week with further loads expected as work progresses.
Work should start on the main foundation block for the central feature early next week.

June_2009_-_Rem_Garden2 June_2009_-_Rem_Garden3 The Stainless steel segments are currently in Birmingham and will be dipped in acid to remove all of the impurities and remove the welding marks, before being mechanically polished.

You can follow the progress of the garden on line with our regular updates or if you are visiting the NMA at Alrewas you can view the progress being made.

June 16th 2009

Remembrance_-_June_09 The central feature, eagle on the globe, continues to sprout feathers as Anwick Forge adds to an ever growing pile of hand forged feathers. The feathers are cut from sheet metal by a laser and then hand forged to give it its spine and feathering. The eagle will be made up from over 1000 of these feathers.

The stainless steel roundel segments have now been finished and are on their way to a specialist company in Birmingham to be pickled and polished. This process will give the steel its bright and shiny lustre.

Remembrance_-_June_09_2 Ground work on the garden plot is about to begin with the diggers moving in next week. Visitors to the Arboretum this week will see the different elements of the garden painted on to the grass, with white painted lines and wooden pegs, showing its exact footprint.

With the pegs in place, we took the opportunity to make doubly sure that the garden has full disabled access. The NMA kindly lent us their largest electric mobility scooter to test the accessibility, and we can happily report that the scooter drove around the central feature without interruption and without the need to manoeuvre.

Remembrance_Cart_2 Remembrance_-_Cart_1 The gap between the segments is big enough to ensure that a complete 180 degree turn can be executed within 3 turns.

It has always been an important feature that the garden is accessible by all of our members irrespective of their mobility needs.

Work on the opening ceremony is still focussing on the end of September, but we await confirmation from our Royal guest. We will notify all branches immediately when we have more news on this.