Reflection for November 2025
Remembrance
When travelling north for our holiday, we made a deliberate stopover in Staffordshire to visit the National Memorial Arboretum. Covering 250 acres of a former quarry are over 400 memorials to the many personnel who gave their lives in the armed services while serving their country.
We took the land train taxi around the Arboretum to get our bearings, and listen to a commentary. The whole Arboretum is landscaped with trees, bushes and gardens set by the River Tame, creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. At our leisure, on a beautiful sunny day, we walked around and read the various plaques on the memorials.
One we remember was the Irish Infantry Grove that featured a large floor map of Ireland, commemorating the thousands of Irish personnel who served and died with the British Armed Forces in the First World War.
One of the largest memorials we could walk around was dedicated to the Polish Armed Forces, who fought and died for freedom under British command after their country had fallen. It featured a large Polish Eagle on top of a stone plinth.
To us the saddest memorial was named ‘Shot at Dawn’. It featured a life-sized soldier blind folded and tied to a stake. He stood in front of 306 wooden stakes representing each soldier who was shot at dawn during the First World War for sleeping at their post, desertion or cowardice when, in reality, these young men were suffering exhaustion, trauma or mental breakdown. In 2006 the British Government granted a posthumous pardon to these soldiers, acknowledging they were victims and not guilty of any crime.
At the heart of the National Memorial Arboretum is a huge, white, circular, open-air construction rising above the surrounding area like a classic temple. On the gently curved high walls are the names of 16,000 armed forces personnel who have died serving the country since the Second World War. Each year new names are added and Carol found the name of a fellow school pupil who was killed in Northern Ireland at the age of 18 in 1973; a very poignant moment for reflection.
At the far side of the Arboretum was a marble memorial dedicated to a football team: Leyton Orient’s 41 players, staff and supporters enlisted during the First World War, listed together within the 17th Battalion, known as ‘The Footballers’ Battalion.’ Their courage inspired other teams to do the same.
Memorials help us to remember the sacrifice many people have made. They give us a focal point for gathering, lying of wreaths, remembering, honouring and praying. What about the greatest sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ? Where is His memorial?
We have a living memorial that can be set up anywhere, anytime. Jesus left us His own memorial in the bread and wine; as we eat the bread and drink the wine together, we honour Him and remember His sacrificial death until He comes again.
John and Carol