This book inspires the reader because it is wonderful to see how such a worthy casue grew so vigorously from an initial small seed of determination and vision by one individual… Childs has written the definitive book about this unique grove of remembrance

Guards Magazine, Autumn 2011

The author is David Childs who conceived the idea of the tree-studded site and then went on to establish it. His concept was to plant trees as a living tribute to those who died while serving their nation in an age of violence.

The 170-page book tells of the bravery of many of those remembered there but I was particularly interested in the organisers' dilemma over what to do in commemorating the deaths of those who were shot by their own side for desertion.

Terry Sutton - Dover Express

Childs tells the story of the 20- hear gestation and frution of his idea for a place of national remembrance of those who died in the conflicts of the 20th century and those others whose wartime endeavours the present and succeeding generations owe their freedom.
He recounts how the idea came almost literally in a dream. While on a duty visit to Washington at the end of the Cold War, Childs went to see the National Arboretum on New York Avenue, and Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac in Virginia. The next morning he "woke up with the two places i had visited combined in my mind". Then on the flight home he read of the Major Government;s initiative to establish a national forest in the midlands: "It seemed obvious tat this was where the National Memorial Arboretum would have to be."

...

Although the names carved in stone will remain for many generations, their hallowing at Alrewas is intended to be part of a wider spiritual process, which prince Charles, who attended the dedication of the memorial in 2007, writes of in his foreword to growing Remembrance: "Memories inevitably fade, but here at the National Memorial Arboretum the memorials linked to them will flourish. That is its genius and its joy."

The Times, Saturday June 18 2011, Allan Mallinson

Extremely moving account of a symbol of national pride. As the number of WW1 and WW2 veterans diminishes with each passing year so it becomes more important that we have something to focus on, to remind us of the sacrifices they made on our behalf. Humbling.

Books Monthly June