The RAF Association (RAFA) Remembrance Garden
"Proudly and thankfully we will remember them"
Weekly Remembrance Garden update - 22 September 2009
If you would like to find out about a Remembrance Cross or Stone, please click here
Last update before the launch!
Work on the main garden has now finished with just a little tidying and finishing work to do. The segments have now been tiled and look stunning and compliment the rest of the garden.
The marble cladding for the central plinth will arrive and be fitted next week. The plinth will carry the Association’s dedication on two of its sides.
Winston the eagle is now completed and will take flight and travel to Birmingham to be cleaned and electro-polished. This process will give him his final gleaming finish. He will then travel to the Arboretum next week to be fitted on top of the marble plinth, and will await HRH The Princess Royal to arrive on the 28th September for the official unveiling.
The pictures show the incredible amount of hard work that has gone into both the garden and the central feature, and it is all thanks to the experts and craftsmen who have combined together to create such a fitting tribute to RAF heroes. This Garden is something that the Association can be truly proud and will help us to remember those that have given their lives in the service of their country.
Plans for the opening ceremony are nearing completion there will be over 1000 guests attending the opening event with over 90 standards being paraded.
We will bring you full coverage of the opening event on the 28th September.
To view the build progress in full, please click here
If you have any comments or queries about the garden please contact :
Neil Everall, The RAF Association, 117½ Loughborough Road, Leicester, LE4 5ND.
Alternatively, please email Neil Everall or Telephone 0116 266 5224
The Garden - How It All Began
It has taken 4 years of research, investigation and consultation with the Branches, members and the Royal Air Force but finally we have a major announcement about the Remembrance Garden project.
Early in January we received the green light from Central Council to go ahead and start to build the RAFA Remembrance Garden at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) at Alrewas in Staffordshire.
Since then it has been ‘all systems go’ to start bringing the various elements of the project together.
To view our plot at the National Arboretum in a short video, please click here or on the adjacent picture.
On the 21st of January we held a ground breaking ceremony. The President, Air 
Marshal Philip Sturley was joined by veterans from local Branches along with the RAFALO from RAF Cottesmore to wield a spade and remove the first lumps of turf from the RAFA Site at the NMA. Also joining the group was a camera team from ITV Central news, which filmed the ground breaking and conducted a short interview with Air Marshal Sturley for the 6 o’clock news. Better weather and less rain and snow should see the diggers move on to the site during March.
Central to the site will be a statue of the Eagle on the Globe. This has now been commissioned and work has started. When it is finished the gleaming Eagle will soar 3 metres high as it sits on its black marble plinth. The statue will be made up from over 1000 individually made feathers crafted on to a strong internal skeleton. Stainless steel is notoriously difficult to work with and can only be worked within small temperature tolerances
Television and press interest in the Garden has been high and the BBC have already visited Anwick Forge in Sleaford, to film the initial stages of the work. A special report last some 2 minutes was aired on BBC Look North during February. Anwick Forge is the company commissioned to build the RAFA Logo from stainless steel. It is hoped that they will follow the progress of the eagle as it builds into the magnificent final structure, and to the opening ceremony later in the year.
Fran Mackereth one of the co-owners of the forge said “ This is a particularly satisfying commission to win as my father was a Lancaster bomber navigator during WWII and a life long member of the Association, it is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate his life and the thousands of others like him” .
In addition to the garden we have gained permission to build a path from the main road through the Arboretum to the RAFA garden so that full access for those people who are less able or in a wheelchair.
The roundel feature is being constructed jointly by the Anwick Forge, Scott Developments and a ceramics company called CP group based in Exeter. The Chief Executive Officer, Tony Taylor has said “"CP Group is clearly delighted to be associated with this wonderful project that creates a lasting memorial to the RAF. My brother in law is a serving officer in the RAF so the service, and the project, are therefore of particular interest to me personally. Over the 25 years that we have been producing decorative and bespoke tiles we have been involved in many fascinating projects, and this one is no exception. I look forward to seeing the unveiling of the RAF Memorial Monument at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire."
A formal opening of the garden is being planned for sometime in late September this year, where it is hoped that a Royal presence will formally open the garden. Details of the event will appear later in the year and it is hope to get as many Branch standards to the event as possible. The capacity and organisation of the NMA will ensure that a significant number of members and guests will also be able to attend the opening ceremony.
The whole focus of the garden is to remember friends, colleagues and loved ones who have served in the Royal Air Force and to celebrate their lives. Details of how you can remember a loved one at the garden are currently being developed, and will be available later in the year.
If you have any comments or queries about the garden please contact :
Neil Everall, The RAF Association Remembrance Garden, 117½ Loughborough Road, Leicester, LE4 5ND
Alternatively, please email Neil Everall or Telephone 0116 266 5224
Leading Rider Signed Arai Crash Helmet Poster up for Raffle at Easter Egg Bike Run
Arai Crash Helmets have very kindly donated a poster signed by their leading riders to help raise funds for the RAF Wings Appeal
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Please see below for some useful links to other areas of our website :
The RAF Association Remembrance Garden is being built in association with:
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Telephone: 0116 266 5224 or
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Postal Address: 117½ Loughborough
Road, Leicester, LE4 5ND Phone: 0116 266 5224 Fax: 0116 266 5012
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