Page 91 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022

On Wednesday 3rd August we, Lucknow Platoon, visited the National Memorial Arboretum for the day. This included a
short church service involving a minute’s silence, a guided tour of the Arboretum, a self-guided walk around, and finally an afternoon tea where we could sit, discuss and reflect on the day.
Two aspects of the day particularly stand out.
First, we were guided to the memorials com- memorating those who had lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Someone
noted how clearly you could see
ing since 1945. Particularly poignant were the large walls that have yet to be filled but inevitably will be in years to come. Walking along the empty walls was an eerie and somewhat haunting experience, but also neces- sary, I think.
Ultimately, in the bubble of Lucknow
which regiments were on active
tour in what years, as these
obviously made up the majority
of the names for that year. The
Colour Sergeant described his
experiences in Afghanistan with
The Royal Irish Regiment, which
brought the memorial to life and
added context to a few of the names on the wall.
Second, it would be amiss not to mention the Armed Forces Memorial, around which the rest of the Arboretum revolves. On it are written the names of every member of the Armed Forces who has lost their lives on operations or train-
Platoon, it
training to lead men and women in conflict zones. The day was a much-needed reminder that we must not become complacent in Luc- know and need to keep pushing every single day to become better officers in order to avoid filling the Arboretum with any more names.
Lucknow Visit to National Memorial Arboretum (NMA)
Walking along
the empty walls was an eerie and somewhat haunting experience, but also necessary, I think.
OCdt Winterbottom
is all too easy to forget that we are
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