Page 19 - QARANC Vol 14 No 7 2013

The Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army
Nursing Corps Memorial at The National
Memorial Arboretum
Croxall Road, Alrewas, Staffordshire. DE13 7AR
On the edge of the National Forest, 6 miles from the Defence Medical Services Headquarters (Whittington) is the National Memorial Arboretum. The National Memorial Arboretum is the UK’s Centre for Remembrance run in trust by the Royal British Legion. Here you can visit the striking Armed Forces Memorial surrounded by over 250 memorials and gardens dedicated to both military and civilian services, as well as charities, local institutions and overseas organisations. These memorials “honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in our country”. The Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps Association (QA Assoc) was one of the first Army Associations to dedicate a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, installing it in a small garden adjacent to the front entrance of the Visitor Centre.
With the Royal British Legion’s aspiration to expand the Visitor Centre and construction planned on the site of the QARANC Memorial, the National Memorial Arboretum requested that they move the QARANC Memorial to a new location. The area suggested was a more prominent position on one of the walks within the Army Medical Services area and surrounded by some well established trees. After an already wet summer, the rain came again in September 2012 and did not stop for the next 6 months. The plot was flooded several times; landscaping and planting the new garden came to a halt until the quagmire subsided. This was extremely disappointing and a re-dedication service for the QARANC Memorial, planned as a major part of the national QARANC Corps Day celebrations in the presence of the QARANC Colonel- in-Chief, The Countess of Wessex, had to be postponed.
Once the ground had fully dried out, the landscaping commenced. A hard- standing central area was designed in the shape of the QARANC cross with the memorial at its centre, the grass was sprayed off, rotavated and reseeded and the surrounding 4 flower beds were planted, mindful of the Corps
colours. Finally, on a warm day in June 2013, the QA Assoc re-committed the new site for the QARANC Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in a simple service of dedication with a gathering of QA Assoc and serving QARANC personnel from across the UK.
However, this is not the end of the story.
The National Memorial Arboretum depends almost entirely on volunteers to run and maintain the arboretum. The weeding, tidying and planting of each garden remains the responsibility of its sponsor. Although the QA Assoc pays a small annual grant, this only covers the basic grass and hedge maintenance and the National Memorial Arboretum is keen for volunteers to come down to support their gardener and keep
it sustained as a place of reflection rather than one of disenchantment. Once a month the National Memorial Arboretum supervises a working weekend when volunteers come and assist with maintenance of the trees and gardens. This would be an ideal opportunity for interested QAs to join the gang and/or work in their own garden. Alternatively, volunteers are encouraged to contact the Assistant Curator to arrange a time when they might like to visit and perhaps spend half an hour weeding around the memorial.
Further information: www. theNationalMemorialArboretum.org.uk Tel: (01283) 792333 E-mail: info@ theNationalMemorialArboretum.org.uk. Maj Rachel Shallcross
RAMC (94 422 4136)
THE GAZETTE QARANC 17
Photos courtesy of the NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM