| Regimental Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum |
| There have been many voices raised concerning the state of the regimental memorial located at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA). For members who have not been to Alrewas and seen the memorial it has a separate face for each of the Regiments, namely in antecedent order, The Gloucestershire Regiment, The Royal Berkshire Regiment, The Wiltshire Regiment, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire) and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. The memorial is made of Cotswold Stone, which whilst being a softer stone than, say granite, is synonymous with the three counties our regiments hail from. Due to the concerns raised at an AGM, prior to Covid, and concerns raised by recent visits, from a variety of Association veterans, we made contact with the National Memorial Arboretum, which resulted in the Association Secretary having an on site meeting with the Grounds and Landscape Manager, who look after the memorials with the arboretum. The NMA no longer allows Associations to carry out their own cleaning and maintenance of regimental memorials, due partially to eager volunteers using incorrect cleaning materials and thereby causing damage. As a result of the meeting with the NMA staff and the three options we were offered, the Association Secretary briefed inaugural meeting of the Rifles and RGBW Regimental Management Board. Fortuitously for us The Rifles County Colonel of Berkshire had a professional knowledge of stone work and was able to add weight to the discussion. The Management Board have agreed to that it would be appropriate to contract the NMA to carry out the following: Steam cleaning inc. hand wash where necessary, of memorial stone a minimum of four times per annum Steam clean PAVED area a minimum four times per annum Machine mowing as required throughout mowing season Strim around memorial footprint as required throughout mowing season Re-painting memorial lettering maximum once per 10 years Due to our concern that 10 years may be too large a time lapse for the lettering we are asking for a review of the letting every 5 years. We will keep you updated with the negotiations. |
Please follow and like us:
1
0
20
20
