Membership Secretary:- 24 Park Road, Alrewas, Staffs, DE13 7AG
Tel No 01283 791218. Email: arboretum@dlaproduction.co.uk
Please note new email address

Newsletter Editor: Anne Smith
41 Bradgate Drive, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands, B74 4XG
Tel/Fax: 0121-352-0273
E-mail: twocats@btinternet.com

Website address: http://www.friendsofnma.org.uk

Summer Newsletter 2008

Dear Friends,
Well, we are now at the start of a very busy time at the Arboretum and we have already had a number of Royal visits, i.e. HRH The Princess Royal, The Duke of Gloucester and Princess Michael of Kent (see Gallery at bottom of page) but, first of all let's get the 'day to day' stuff out of the way.

We would like you to take time to read the letters accompanying this newsletter and we would be delighted to have any responses in writing either by pigeon post, 'snail mail' or even email!, and these can be addressed to our Chairman, Carol Davies-Lee, c/o my address which is on the front page of the newsletter.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MEETING

There were approximately 90 members present and the Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and said it was wonderful to see so many Friends present. Acceptance of Minutes
The Chairman asked if everyone had had the opportunity of reading the Minutes and if they thought it was a true record of the meeting held last year. Laurence Olphin proposed that the Minutes be accepted and the meeting was in agreement. There were no matters arising.

Report from Treasurer
Ken Pilgrim presented the accounts as follows:-

Statement of Account for the year ending 31st December 2007

Receipts	2,007	(2006)	Payments	2,007	(2006)
	£	£		£	£
Bank Balance b/f	5580.29	(3,982.02)	Postage/Sty/Printing	1950.09	(1502.39)
Cash in Hand b/f	20.31	(13.75)	TV. Video (Display)	0.00	(540.00)
Subscriptions	2284.00	(2568.00)	Mowers/pump (Filing Cabinet)	0.00	(180.00)
Donations	840.00	(1419.59)	Chapel Hearing Loop	3915.88	(0.00)
Sale of Clothing	2196.18	(1382.38)	Chapel Heating	1000.00	(0.00)
Raffle	119.00	(81.00)	Purchase of Clothing	1345.51	(1248.85)
Bank Interest	2.72	(4.93)	Website Costs	125.00	(100.00)
Sundries	50.60	(44.00)	Refreshments (Functions)	158.63	(93.20)
			Sundries	0.00	(203.63)
			Deposit A/c	2500.00	(0.00)
			Bank Balance c/f	91.86	(5580.29)
			Cash in hand c/f	6.13	(20.31)
	11,093.10	(9,495.67)		11,093.10	(9,495.67)

There were no questions arising but Sir Henry Every, on behalf of the NMA, thanked the Friends for their kind donations to the Arboretum during the year. Carol Davies-Lee thanked Jane Vaughan for all her hard work in connection with the Friends' clothing Christopher Morris proposed the acceptance of the accounts. Laurence Olphin seconded the proposal and thanked Ken Pilgrim for all the work he does as Treasurer.

Report from Membership Secretary
Roger Davies-Lee greeted the Friends and was pleased to report we have 600 Friends in the membership. This is made up of 473 paid up members, 50 Corporate Members, 70 non payers so far (these will be removed from Membership in June 2008). We have also had some more Junior Members at £1 each. RDL would like to propose that we put corporate membership up to £25. Schools could come under this heading, sending them several newsletters, etc., instead of the one they receive at the moment. There were no objections to this proposal. RDL also said that since 1997 the membership fee has been £5 per person and as postage has gone up considerably he proposed an increase of £1 to £6 and that will start from 1st January 2009. The question was raised as to why we don't send the newsletter out on email but once again it was explained that this was too onerous. It was suggested that perhaps we could put a note inside the magazine that if anyone would like to have the newsletter sent by email then please say so. It was mentioned that all newsletters are on the website as well for everyone to read.

Report from the Publicity Officer
Lawrie Walford reported that several more Parish News Editors are printing the list of future events at the NMA plus any news he has about the Friends and this is sent out each month by email. This gives us a circulation of at least 2,000. In addition he also sends the Diary of Events to the Leonard Cheshire Foundation each month and the Editor of a magazine called Village Voices, circulation about 25,000, sometimes prints the news he sends. The articles he has written about the NMA and Friends in the services magazines have a world wide distribution.

Question an Answer Session
What about the guide book? There have been many phone calls about the guide books and these are selling like hot cakes. Is it part of the remit of the Friends to go out to give talks? We have several Friends who do that job in conjunction with the NMA. Roger Hailwood has done 173 talks in the last 5 years, Maynard Scott has spoken to over 5,000 people and Tony Critchley has also done many talks. Groups can be revisited because things change week by week at the NMA and can give them a different story.

Report from the Chairman
Carol Davies-Lee said the Committee has been exceptionally busy during the last year with most of us involved, in one way or another, in all the major events. She and her husband, Roger, were honoured to be invited as VIPs during the Opening of the AFM. The Friends were happy to donate £1,000 to the heating in the Chapel which has made a difference to Winter visits. CDL then mentioned several of our events, David Child's book and thanked David for all his support and encouragement over many years of friendship.

CDL said that last year's report had been full of enthusiasm for the future and anticipation that the Friends would be part of the whole development of the Arboretum and its fulfilment in the years to come. She is very disappointed that the Arboretum has declared firstly that the Friends must go and then, after some further thought, that the Friends can stay but will require to be taken over by the Arboretum and all aspects of the volunteering will be organised by the Staff. Even before the Opening of the AFM it was becoming obvious that the process of organising the volunteering would have to change. It needed to be done on a professional level with more comprehensive training than we had provided up to that point and following more closely the rules for Heath and Safety and Employment Law. However, most of us did not understand that this would come about following the opening of the Armed Forces Memorial on the 12th of October and Remembrance Day. Friends, many of whom have been the mainstay of the Arboretum, were there to help and are still giving generously of their time to ensure that all areas of the Arboretum are served to the best of their ability. CDL thanked all who have helped in the past and who are still helping to make the Arboretum such an enjoyable and worthwhile project.

What has followed has pleased some and disappointed others and has thereby caused somewhat of a rift which has never existed before in the Friends' organisation. All of us can understand that things need to change but many of us cannot understand either the way in which this has been done or the results of the changes so far.

CDL wrote to all the Friends and an Extraordinary General Meeting was held in February and it was obvious that, although the NMA were adamant they were taking over the Friends, it had not been thought through and the AGM was going to be too soon for a vote on a proposal. From the Friends' point of views we need to know exactly what is being provided in its place if the existing structure is to be done away with. Following meetings to discuss the future workings with Ann Middlemiss, Ken Pilgrim and Roger Davies-Lee, Charlie will be able to put a full and detailed plan of action to the next EGM. All of us here today are 100% behind the continuing success of the Arboretum. We all serve in our different ways and to the best of our abilities. We trust that the Friends will go from strength to strength and will continue to support the NMA both in the ways we have in the past and in new and exciting ways in the future. With your help and support we can go ahead hand in hand.

Open/Question & Answer Session
Ken Pilgrim then stated that there had been one meeting to form the committee mentioned above to look into the structuring of the new Friends and it is planning to visit other like organisations to see how they work. He had been in touch with a couple and surprisingly enough their method of operation and constitutions are very similar to ours. Whether they work as well as we do here in the voluntary work in-house or outside is another matter. All the comments we hear are very positive about the Friends.

Anne Nolan and Derek Van Arkadie were privileged to be on the AFM at the Opening Ceremony. The Prime Minister recognised the Friends' uniform and thanked us all for all we have done and said he thought we must be very proud. This was echoed by the Senior Chief of Staff. Both at the Opening of the AFM and Remembrance Sunday there were very favourable comments.

Do they intend to do away with the Friends? The volunteering has definitely gone from the Friends and has been taken over by the Arboretum and the intention is that the Friends will continue to help organise under the umbrella of the NMA. Charles Bagot-Jewitt said it was done for technical reasons not to undermine the value of the Friends. The second area in which Friends can help more is in outreach, membership, and with a social fundraising type focus. Why the stopping and restarting of the takeover? CBJ wants the Friends to go on as before but because of a whole range of changes which have resulted in a letter to the Prime Minster connected with funding the Project in which the Friends organisation plays a good part, the plans have been put on hold for the moment. How will that be put together? What it looks like at the end of the day the NMA do not know yet. It is being studied but don't know quite how it will all turn out in the end.

Margaret McGregor said she had worked for Leonard Cheshire Homes for years and initially, whilst Sir Leonard Cheshire was alive, the operation was run with huge support from volunteers. This meant the homes were run in the most successful way and also gave a wonderful atmosphere not a bureaucratic one. This was something LC felt strongly about. When he died the pressure came to run the homes in a much more strategic way from Central London. They do not understand what true volunteers do. They went about things the wrong way and took away the ability for Friends to do things they had always done. Cheshire Homes have lost a huge amount in all this. Please think very, very carefully about demolishing the Friends.

Ann Middlemiss needed to reassure people about the confusion between the volunteers and the Friends. Volunteers will always continue to be required to do the physical work that the Arboretum needs, i.e. all the people who are sitting here. There are many Friends who will never become volunteers because they live too far away. It is not about doing away with the Friends. For example, she is a Friend of the Botanical Garden, a Friend not a volunteer. Sometimes the Friends are asked for help. She pays £25 for the privilege and gets a newsletter every few months. There is a section on the volunteers and on the Friends and what they are doing and if they want to help in fund raising events. That is the difference. If you are a volunteer then the hope is you are a Friend as well. The Friends are not going to disappear. It may be we need to do something to wind it up but please be assured there is a very clear defining line.

Richard Thorpe said he is a Friend of the Arboretum and about to complete a walk to promote the Arboretum. The meeting wished him well.

Derek Van Arkadie asked if we could send a message from this meeting to Jackie and David Fisher. Several people have been to see her, has anybody got an update report? Jane Vaughan said she saw Jackie a week ago, and had a conversation and Jackie understood everything, they are both happy to see visitors. Jane suggested that we could get a rota up to give David a rest. CDL said that if anybody was happy to do this that they have a word with Jane at the end of the meeting. Sue Elliott said that Jackie had received a copy of the guidebook when it came out.

Election of Officers
The Chairman reminded the meeting that the Chairman's office had been altered so that the officer stood for three years. She called for the Election of the other Officers and Committee Members. Robbie Middlemiss has requested to stand down from the Committee and she thanked him for his time and presented him with a bottle of champagne. The other committee members were happy to stand. There were two people who have filled in forms with proposers and seconders to stand for the one place that is available at the moment. One is Ann Middlemiss and the other is Dr. Christopher Morris. They were invited to say something about themselves before the vote.

Anne Middlesmiss: She felt that the committee needed to have a member of the Friends who is very active to help move forward the proposal that may be happening. She has seen an example of some of the contention that has happened over the last few months and she felt she was seeing this from the perspective of her own working life. If you have an unhappy Group under you, how can you lead from the top. Also we must not lose people who do help and can speak from experience because of being involved with the Friends and what they do. We do need to have some changes but she was expecting that more people would have put their names forward. She was not happy with being asked to be co-opted on to the Committee but was happy that there will be a vote and will stand by the outcome.

Dr. Christopher Morris: Retired 3½ years ago. He was a GP in Wednesbury and before that was a Medical Officer in the RAF. He is Hon Sec of several organisations and has got a lot of experience in running committees, etc., and has organised some Dedication Services at the NMA. Has been a supporter of the Arboretum since the day he went along with his wife and has always intended to be an active member. He was unhappy about proposal from the NMA and is still feeling unhappy. He does recognise change has to take place but would like to ensure that the ongoing changes take place properly.

Votes were then cast and the following Friends were elected to the Committee:-
Ken Pilgrim, Lawrie Walford, Roger Davies-Lee, Keith Woodward, Anne Smith, Chris Morris and Laurence Olphin

Our thanks go to the Tellers and Sir Henry Every, the Returning Officer.
The Chairman then announced that during the counting of the votes refreshments would be served and that raffle prizes were waiting to be collected by the lucky winners.

Presentaion of the Friends of the Year Award 2007


The Chairman said that the Friends this year had been chosen because they have been with us from the very early on and had been two of the most active, helpful and enthusiastic volunteers throughout that time. A presentation was then made to Jante and Denis Philips of a cut glass vase and Jante, who said she was not often lost for words, went on to say what a wonderful and tremendous surprise it was and thanked everybody who had voted for them.

Break out Groups
The Friends were then divided into five Groups to discuss the following:-

Publicity Group
To publicise the NMA was the most important = keen Friends. Looked at a couple of ways this could be done. Brown Signs. Title shots on TV - get an aerial view of the Arboretum. Saga magazine had been a dead loss. Metro, free paper on travel network, Country file. The uniform was distinctive. Try to get a famous personality involved. More links on the Website. Bring Friends website up to date. Social Events
No really good ideas, St. George's Day?, but the group were in favour of having some events.

Fund Raising
Fetes, markets, etc. Finance our own Friends' building. Nobody wants to do fund raising. Sponsored Walks.

Outreach
Ask the visitors to join the Friends and use the resources of the newsletter to do so. Encourage coach parties from far and wide to come. Expand talks to local groups, very valuable recruitment for Friends as well as the Arboretum. Get in touch with organisations national and private. Provide support for fund raising. Approach companies who could trade on the back of the NMA, i.e. MOD & RBL. Parish newsletters to mention Friends of the Arboretum. Expand area of operation so that we are really national not just local. Try to get more companies as Corporate membership.

Volunteer Training
It was thought that we need to take ownership of a specific duty. Have a specialist, i.e. those who understand all the various aspects of volunteering should be a team leader because various duties will change from time to time and if there was a specialist that people recognised they could go to them for an update. Think there should be a list or register of people who have reached a reasonable level of competence but there should be no rank system whatsoever with regard to guiding. There is a difference between somebody who feels able to volunteer and putting responsibility on to that volunteer. Not everybody wants to take responsibility. Seek out certain specialities of volunteers, i.e. foreign languages, etc. How many people in your group would be willing to help with the relevant topics? The NMA is already on top of a number of these items already. One of the things the NMA stress is to have a proper delimitation of what is an important task and how it should be done properly. However, the new volunteers have not started yet.

Communication
Two main things. There should be a regular update of site news, what is being built and constructed on the site and the dedication date, so that visitors to the Arboretum could be given a meaningful answer. The other thing was there should be something on what is happening on each day, perhaps some kind of timetable and briefing. It would be helpful to have a proper volunteer coordinator who could expand on this. Lynne Barkas does prepare a sheet each day but that system seems to break down when Lyn is not here. When we have big events Helen perhaps should prepare a schedule of where everybody is and what they are doing. We need to get young people involved, i.e. a newsletter, etc., to youth organisations and schools for the benefit of young people. The Chairman thanked everyone and said it had been an interesting and informative meeting.

FRIENDS' NEWS
Apology
I have a sincere apology to make to one of our Committee Members. I described Laurence Olphin as a solicitor. He was, of course, a Barrister practising at Lincoln's Inn. Fortunately he is not going to sue me for libel, so I can still be your newsletter editor for the foreseeable future!!!

New Committee Member : Dr. Christopher Morris


Christopher comes from an RAF family and served as an RAF Medical Officer before 30 years in general practice in Wednesbury. He created and runs the RAF Habbaniya Association, currently 650 strong and has organised Acts of Remembrance in Iraq as well as three Memorial Services at this Arboretum with numerous tree dedications for those who served in Iraq in days gone by. With Susan and the grandchildren he frequently checks on the progress of 'his' trees, but retirement has so far proved too busy to permit active volunteering, despite a passion for the Arboretum - which he publicises at every opportunity.

Working Weekends
Well, we have been working hard because, as I say, we are trying to keep the Arboretum looking neat and tidy for all the dedications that are happening at this time, not an easy job! It's really high maintenance (but not physically hard) now, i.e. weeding, mowing, etc., but still good fun and, of course, we are blessed with better weather - usually. So, diaries out, dates are 12/13 July, 13/14 September, 11/12 October. Note: There will be no working weekend in August because it gives us all a break and there are far too many people away on their holidays. One of the bonuses at this time of year is that we are working on plots which are in the heart of the Arboretum and we get so many people coming and talking to us and telling us how beautiful they think the Arboretum is looking and always ask "are you all volunteers? Well keep up the good work"! It really makes one proud to be a Friend.

Publicity
Although we are now sending information and publicity about the Arboretum and Friends all over the world, believe it or not we do still need to increase our circulation. You would be surprised at how many visitors come just to see the Armed Forces Memorial and do not realise what else there is to see at the Arboretum, so we would still like to hear from you if you know of any other associations or parish magazines which would welcome news about us. So please let Lawrie Walford have a contact name and e-mail address. His details are Tel: 01283-791857 E-mail: lawriew@globalnet.co.uk

Fundraising
A lot of the work at the Arboretum would not be possible without the support of our enthusiastic community of fundraisers up and down the country. No matter how small your event, every little helps!  If you feel you can help then please contact Ken Pilgrim on 01827-383050 or ken.pilgrim@homecall.co.uk, who would be delighted to hear from you and can give you some wonderful ideas and tips for an event.

Donation of Trailer
Thanks to Bryan Wren, a Friend who joins the team on working weekends and also recently helped with completion of the RNLI plot, we have a 'new' trailer, which is 8ft 6'' x 4ft 6'' with 4 wheels and a rear ramp, previously owned by Derbyshire Health Authority and used by their grounds staff. Unlike our old and slightly larger trailer, which has seen better days and is now in need or lots of TLC to get it back into shape, the somewhat newer one is still road legal and should soon be seen at the NMA after undergoing a full service and paint job (see picture). The old trailer will still be of use on site but needs major work including having a new floor, jockey wheel and a full service on brakes etc. It is the intention to put a steel sheet in the floor of both trailers to prolong their working life.

ARBORETUM NEWS

Golf Buggy
The request for a golf buggy was the idea of David Millington, a Friend of the NMA, who wrote to the Rotary Club of Derby asking for assistance to raise £5,000 to help less mobile visitors get round the Arboretum. Scores of Rotary Clubs from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and part of the West Midlands all combined to raise the funds to buy it following an appeal that was launched in May 2007. The Assistant District Governor for the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire District of Rotary, Norman Chapple, said "When David explained to the club that some less mobile people were having trouble getting around the Arboretum we quickly launched an appeal to buy a buggy. We were absolutely delighted by the response from so many of our clubs in the Rotary districts concerned and it's marvellous that the buggy will be put to such good use." The first passengers to be carried from the AFM to 'Rotary Ridge', following the presentation ceremony, were Charlie Bagot-Jewitt, Allan Jagger (Rotary President), Roger Pursey and Peter Barke (District Governors)

Bus Link
There is now a bus route to link the NMA with Birmingham and Burton. The 112 runs up to every 60 minutes, daytime Monday to Saturday, commencing at Burton-on-Trent at the Railway Station and stopping at Burton on Trent New Street, Branston, Barton-under-Needwood, Alrewas, NMA, Lichfield, Hill Hook, Sutton Coldfield, Erdington and Birmingham. On a Sunday the 7E will run between Burton and Lichfield via Branston, Barton, Yoxall, Alrewas and Fradley, calling at the NMA on route. Good news for all of our Friends with their new 'free bus passes'! Pictured are David Leech (County Councillor for Staffordshire County Council), Charlie Bagot Jewitt, Michael Cartwright (Burton on Trent, General Manager, Arriva).

Land Train
This summer the NMA are also running a land train to take visitors on a route around the site which also includes a short commentary on the plots passed during the tour.

Pay & Display Parking
In order to raise money for the car park which badly needs resurfacing, the NMA have had to add a charge to park so that they can 'raise funds to carry out essential work and they are asking you to contribute today so that they can continue their work tomorrow'. The charge for parking is £1 for up to 30 minutes and £2 for over 30 minutes. However, if you think you are going to be a regular visitor then you can buy a standard prepaid annual parking permit for just £20 by contacting Helen Overton, Visitor & Tourism Manager on 01283-792333.

Armed Forces Memorial
Carving has commenced on the memorial of the names of those members of the armed forces who died on duty during 2007. This is in readiness for a service of remembrance which will take place later this month. You will note from the photograph that the new names will, from now on, be done by hand whereas the original names were put on by computer (it would have taken many years to carve them all by hand).

PAST EVENTS
Extra pictures of some of these events can be found in the gallery at the bottom of the page.

We have had so many dedications and remembrance ceremonies, i.e. The Green Jackets, the 11th Hussars, the Royal Marines, Shackleton Memorial, to name but a few. However, in this edition we have put an extra page of photos in so I hope these will give you a feel of the events without me having to go into too much detail about them. In the picture gallery are two of our Friends - Derek Van Arkadie, a Green Jacket, with his son Peter after the march past and Lawrie Walford (got you on camera at last Lawrie!!) who was one the leading lights in the Shackleton Memorial being erected at the Arboretum.

On a personal note, having spoken to so many people over the last few weeks, they all say the same thing - that they have enjoyed the day and event and will certainly come again. I really enjoy talking to visitors and explaining about the memorials around the Arboretum and the feedback is fabulous, long may it continue.

Visit of The Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO : 17^th May 2008
The Duke first visited the Civil Defence plot where a new memorial to commemorate voluntary service from 1949 to 1968, has been designed to complement the main WWII stone. The dedication ceremony commenced with a service in the chapel at which a new Book of Remembrance was unveiled giving details of the names of Civil Defence Association members who have died since June 2007. The party then marched to the memorial for the plaque unveiling and wreath laying.

The Duke then went on to the Fire Service Plot, which is adjacent to the Civil Defence Plot for a wreath laying ceremony and after lunch the Duke was given a tour of the Armed Forces Memorial by representatives from the NMA. A little while later we were treated to a wonderful display by the 'Battle of Britain' fly past, a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane who came round and flew over us three times. Fantastic.

Visit of HRH The Princess Royal KG, KT, GCVO, QSO : 20^th May 2008
The day was extremely busy with Princess Anne visiting the sites of the Memorial Masons, the Royal Signals, the Fire Services and a tour of the Armed Forces Memorial. I won't go into great detail because it would be too long but there will be photographs so I am sure you will be able to get the 'gist' of the day.

HRH started her 'journey' by visiting and enjoying a tour of the Memorial Masons Centenary Garden which was created to provide a permanent marker to celebrate 100 years of service to both its members and bereaved families by maintaining the highest standards in all aspects of the industry. Sasha Steggles and Jessica and Laura Rackham presented bouquets of flowers.

The Princess then visited the AFM and was presented to Rawlett Community Sports College and after a tour of the site at which the Sculptor, Ian Rank-Broadley, talked about the statues, she met 6 war widows.

The Princess Royal then moved on to the Royal Signals Memorial which is of Mercury, the winged messenger, - affectionately known as 'Jimmy'. The memorial was erected by means of donations from branches and individual members of the RSA after previous dedicated trees had died.

After lunch she progressed to the unveiling ceremony of the new Fire Service monument 'Firefighters Serving Humanity' made from granite stone where the guests of honour were families of firefighters who have lost their lives whilst serving.

Visit by HRH Princess Michael of Kent : 22^nd May 2008
There was a Commemorative Service held on the Armed Forces Memorial to mark the efforts of more than 100,000 members of the UK Armed Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina over their 15 year deployment, paying tribute to those who did not return. The service was also attended by Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Bob Ainsworth, Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt and Bosnia and Herzegovina Defence Minister, Mr. Selmo Cikotic. Also present were hundreds of veterans from across the UK and families and friends of those who paid the ultimate price in bringing greater peace and stability to a country once ravaged by a bitter civil war. During the wreath laying Vedran Smailovic, the 'Cellist of Sarajevo' played a musical tribute. He famously played his cello for 22 consecutive days in Sarajevo in 1992 to honour the deaths of 22 civilians who were killed when queuing for bread during the bombing and shelling of the city.

Royal Marines : 1^st June
The dedication of the new Royal Marines Memorial involved a considerable number of former Royal Marines, their relatives and supporters. Led by a stirring Royal Marine Band, & some very smart Royal Marine Cadets, two large groups of former Marines, including some in wheel chairs, formed up to march to the site of the splendid new Royal Marines Memorial. The pride of the Royal Marines family was palpable!

Shackleton Association : 4^th June
On 4th June, members of  the Shackleton Association held a service in the Millennium Chapel which was conducted by Rev. Simon Lumby. Simon's  father worked on Shackleton aircraft during his service in the Royal Air Force, and  was present. Also attending were Colonel and Mrs R. Louw representing the South African Air Force, which at one time, operated Shackleton aircraft. After the service,  the memorial, a very fitting tribute in grey Scottish granite, was unveiled by Air Chief Marshal Sir David Parry- Evans GCB,CBE,KStJ. This memorial, a credit to craftsman Alan Cannell, is dedicated to all who flew or worked on Shackleton aircraft. Most of the progress of this project and the register of names was the work of Mick Wells. Reports of the ceremony appeared in the local press and the Daily Telegraph.
Photo shows Lawrie Walford standing beside the memorial

SPONSORED WALK: RICHARD THORPE
Everything went to plan. I set off from Abington, just north of Moffat, in Lanarkshire on May 5th and went via New Lanark and the Clyde Walkway into Glasgow. From there I took the Kelvin Way to Milngavie, the start of the West Highland Way, which got me to Fort William. I continued along the Great Glen Way to Inverness and finally north via Dornoch and Wick to arrive in John O' Groats on 29th May. Even though I had come to the end of my journey I just had to do an extra 2 miles to Duncansby Head, a place that is totally amazing. John Brinkley, another Friend and photographer at the Arboretum, walked with me for a few days near the end and took lots of pictures on his digital camera, as I have done throughout my walk. (Arrival at John O'Groats shown on picture gallery.) The weather was brilliant - I had less than 2 hours rain for the whole walk of just over 350 miles. I met lots of lovely people and saw some fantastic scenery and wildlife including Deer, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon chicks, Seals, etc. I would like to personally thank all those who sponsored me and will update you with details of how much I raised in a later newsletter. This was the final stage of a three part walk from Land's End at a distance which was a shade over 1200 miles. If you would like to see further pictures of my walk they can be found on the following website: www.driftwoodimages.net.

'GROWING REMEMBRANCE' by Commander David Child, RN(ret'd)
As you know David has just published the above and is giving a talk and signing his book at 11.15 am on Thursday the 26th of June at the Arboretum. I am sure that David would be absolutely delighted to see old Friends, so please come along and support him. This is taking place as part of a day of talks in Veterans Week which commencing at 9.30 am, details of which are on the enclosed flyer.

BRITISH WOODCARVERS ASSOCIATION
In order to promote the art and craft of woodcarving the above will be running free workshops for children every day from 14th - 29th June. Designed for children aged 7 to 11 years of age, no previous experience is necessary as full instructions and guidance will be provided. To make the workshops fun and safe, the carvings will be made out of bars of soap, using wooden chisels and plastic knives and the children will be able to take home what they have created. School groups and those accompanied by their parents are all welcome. The hour long workshops, which start at different times during the day, will be led by world-renowned sculptor and former schoolteacher, Peter Benson, who has had a long association with the Arboretum. Peter says " carving soap is a great way into sculpture and the children will have a chance to try their hand at one of any number of designs. The workshops will cover all the basic skills and we're hoping it may eventually encourage more children into the craft". The picture is of a sculpture presented to David Childs by the Essex Wood Carvers. For further information please contact Randi Cush at the Arboretum on 01283-792333 or by emailing rcush@thenma.org.uk.

Best Wishes


Anne Smith
Editor
15.6.08

FUTURE DEDICATION & REMEMBRANCE EVENTS