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The National Arboretum means a lot to me, with only living in Alrewas a mile away and it’s good to know you can come over
here at all times and see the Remembrance plaques and names on the big wall for all our lads
that unfortunately have died or have gone over the years.
Lt Tom Causner, a member of 3rd Battalion The West Mercian Regiment, (Staffords).
Having a place such as the National Memorial Arboretum here as a place to remember our fallen comrades and colleagues
and friends and loved ones who have fallen on operations is a truly fantastic thing.
And the last thing I want to do is welcome the most exciting thing that has happened to us is a Royal patron and it is just going to
make such a difference to this appeal to have His Royal Highness Prince William
come to join us and I’m now going to ask him to say a few words. Sir.
Thank you General. Over 12 short years the National Memorial Arboretum has already become part of the fabric of this nation.
Any memorial to those who have given their lives for others is poignant,
but the vision behind this extraordinary place is something else altogether.
It is, quite simply, unique. A worthy focus for our national pride in those who have given their lives in the service of others.
It is the most fitting way for us to express our solemn gratitude to them.
Already 3,000 children a year come here to undertake school projects, there are over 200 annual memorial events,
there are hundreds of thousands of visitors, as the General told us. All this needs infrastructure, it needs meeting halls,
the enlargement of the education centre, improvements to the chapel, however, I thought it was pretty good when I went in there
earlier, expansion and redesign of the restaurant/shop.
In short, it needs the Future Foundations Appeal.
It is therefore an immense honour for me to be the Patron of this Appeal, to have the chance to contribute something
towards ensuring that future generations can come and learn with pride of the great debt that we all owe those commemorated here.
Whether they be military, civilians from the police, fire and ambulance services.
I would just like to say thank you to all the staff who work here so tirelessly, thank you to the Appeals Committee for the vital work
that you are undertaking, thank you to those of you who are supporting this Appeal
and finally thank you for according me this great privilege of becoming your Patron.
I came here about 4 or 5 years ago when it was a building site, so I’ve seen it grow over that time and I think it’s remarkable.
It’s got a wonderful, wonderful feeling now, the actual memorial itself I think is quite stunning. Really, really marvellous.
I don’t think anyone really initially thought it would be quite as popular as it has been, and quite as necessary, really.
It needs to expand; the visitor centre was only designed to cope for really hardly the amount of people that now come.
It’s important that it grows and grows and becomes a place that not only people who have lost family members can come and
remember them, but also as an educational place for young people to understand what it’s like,
all the wars that we’ve had since the Second World War.