Memorial details

Memorial type
Composite
District
Lichfield
Town
Alrewas
County
Staffordshire
Country
England
Commemoration
Non-Specific Conflict
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 14 September 2013
    Attended by: Mrs Amanda Binnie
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
74412

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Current location

Memorial is no. 418a in Blue Zone on Millennium Avenue.
National Memorial Arboretum
Croxall Road
Alrewas
Lichfield
Staffordshire
DE13 7AR
England

OS Grid Ref: SK 18505 14675
Denomination: Undefined

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Description
A garden with, as its focal point, a large raised bed in the shape of a poppy flower. The poppy flower bed is bordered by a wall of large stones and topped with a polished reddish-brown granite top. The poppy flower bed is divided with black granite borders into twelve segments, one for each month of the year. The names of the months are engraved in gold lettering on the granite top. Individual everlasting poppies are inserted into the bed as personal commemorations. At the centre of the bed is a roundel of black polished granite on which the words "Lest We Forget" are engraved in gold lettering. An upright poppy wreath made of the same stone and covered in poppies is fixed to the roundel. Set into the grass surrounding the memorial are three tablets of reddish-brown granite with commemorations engraved in gold lettering to three individuals most closely associated with Poppy symbolism: Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McRae, Moina Michael and Madame Anna E Guerin.
Inscription
[Tablet 1]: LIEUTENANT COLONEL/ JOHN ALEXANDER MCRAE M.D.,/ CANADA./ A POET, PHYSICIAN AND SOLDIER/ DURING WORLD WAR 1,/ WROTE THE FAMOUS WAR MEMORIAL POEM/ 'IN FLANDERS FIELD'. [Tablet 2]: MADAME ANNA E. GUERIN,/ OF FRANCE./ RESOLVED TO SELL HANDMADE POPPIES/ AROUND ARMISTICE DAY TO RAISE MONEY/ FOR EX-SERVICEMEN AND POOR CHILDREN/ IN THE WAR-TORN AREAS OF EUROPE. [Tablet 3]: TO THE MEMORY OF MOINA MICHAEL,/ OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA./ THE FIRST POPPY LADY./ INSPIRED BY JOHN MCRAE'S LINES:/ "IN FLANDERS FIELDS, THE POPPIES BLOW,/ BETWEEN THE CROSSES, ROW ON ROW."/ SHE CAMPAIGNED FOR THE RED POPPY TO BE / ADOPTED AS THE SYMBOL OF REMEMBRANCE.
Inscription legible?
yes
Commemorations
  • Non-Specific Conflict
    Total names on memorial: 0
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 0
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Undefined
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Sculpture
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Granite
  • Wall
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Granite, Stone
  • Garden
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Undefined
Listing information
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Corporate,public
Details: Royal British Legion, subscription ns for everlasting poppies from members of the public
Responsibility
Royal British Legion

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-74412

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