What a wonderful, emotive place to visit. We were on our way at 9.00 a.m. with a very cloudy sky, but the clouds cleared and the sun was shining when we reached our destination. We arrived too late for the daily Remembrance Service (the only place in the country which has an Act of Remembrance every day). This was disappointing, but we met our guide at 11.30 a.m. who showed us round some of the 150 acres, which had been gifted by Redland Aggregates after they had finished sand and gravel extraction and includes a wildlife lake.

The Arboretum was created as a memorial primarily for those who had served since 1945 and had nowhere for their names to be recorded, unlike the 1st and 2nd World War Monuments all around the country. The central feature of the site is the Armed Forces Memorial, which includes a mound from which the whole site can be seen. It provides a place for remembering those who have no grave or it is overseas. It is designed so that the sun shines through a slot onto the central wreath at 11.00am on 11th November.

There are over 50,000 maturing trees and over 200 memorials, not just for the Armed Forces but also for the Police, Fire Fighters, War Widows, Twin Towers, Freemasons, Spiritualists, Stillborn Babies, the General Post Office and the Railways, to name but a few. New memorials being added constantly and include ones relating to pre-1945 activities and overseas organisations.

The trees are set out in groves, woods, walks, both straight and sinuous, and each creates its own atmosphere, whether mournful or joyful. The colours and species are numerous and whilst impressive now will become more so as they mature.

Following lunch in the visitor centre there was free time to wander. This was when we came across the Japanese Prisoner of War exhibition, which was extremely harrowing. There is also a 30 metre stretch of the original Burma Railway with the surrounding trees and benches bearing relevant dedications.

We also came across the RNLI Garden which was designed by Chris Beardshaw who will be speaking to the Society in October 2013.

If you were not able to join us on this trip, I can strongly recommend it as a place to visit on your own sometime. Admission is free, but they do rely on donations.

Our next stop was a visit to nearby Lichfield Cathedral. Dating back to the 12th century, the cathedral was built on the site of a previous church which was said to be the shrine of St. Chad.