MEDIA CALL
Arboretum looks to the past, present and future as 10th Anniversary is celebrated
12:15hrs, 17 May 2011
Gather at the Armed Forces Memorial
For accreditation please email andrew.baud@talapr.co.uk
The National Memorial Arboretum will be taking a look at its past, present and future when it is visited by members of its Appeal Council on May 17th, as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations.
Visitors will hear a series of presentations by speakers including Charlie Bagot Jewitt, Chief Executive of the Arboretum, and Major General Patrick Cordingley DSO, Chair of the NMA Appeal. It will be an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved in the last 10 years and explore the exciting plans for the future.
The Appeal, of which HRH The Duke of Cambridge is Patron, is an £8 million redevelopment campaign, launched in 2009 for the development of the Arboretum’s buildings and the creation of a world-renowned centre for Remembrance. This will include much improved educational facilities and will become a focal point for The Royal British Legion to express the meaning and importance of Remembrance.
Also visiting the Arboretum, which is part of The Royal British Legion Family of charities, is Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman, the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), for her actions while serving in Iraq.
At 12.45 hours, 13 year old Alrewas schoolgirl, Poppy, who is a member of the Burton Air Training Corps, will meet and have her photograph taken with Michelle. Poppy has ambitions to become a Chinook helicopter pilot, and is delighted to be meeting her heroine.
At 13.00 hours there are interview opportunities hours with:
· Charlie Bagot Jewitt, Chief Executive of the National Memorial Arboretum
· Major Patrick Cordingley DSO, Chairman of the NMA Appeal
· Lord Puttman of Queensgate CBE, member of the Appeal Council and founder chairman of the Arboretum (tbc)
· Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman DFC
· Poppy, Burton Air Training Corps
The National Memorial Arboretum, Croxall Road , Alrewas, Staffordshire DE13 7AR, www.thenma.org.uk
The National Memorial Arboretum is the UK ’s year-round centre of Remembrance; a spiritually uplifting place which honours the fallen, recognises service, suffering and sacrifice, and fosters pride in our country. The Arboretum is part of The Royal British Legion family of charities.
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