Royal British Legion opens Field of Remembrance featuring more than 12,000 tributes
The Royal British Legion (RBL) has officially opened its largest field of remembrance.
A special Remembrance service was held on Friday at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) in Staffordshire to publicly open the field, which is one of six around the UK, that features more than 12,000 individual tributes to those who lost their lives in service of the nation.
Each November, the RBL invites members of the public to come from across the UK to join together and honour the memory of loved ones whose lives were lost serving in the Armed Forces.
Every year, thousands of people show their support with a personal tribute, with more than 55,000 tributes planted across the six Royal British Legion Fields of Remembrance taking the form of a Remembrance Cross, Muslim Crescent, Star of David, Sikh Khanda, Hindu Om, Secular Tribute or commemorative markers.
Phillippa Rawlinson, director of remembrance at the RBL, said: "With each tribute planted, someone is remembering a loved one, a family member, a friend or comrade as well as simply acknowledging the ultimate sacrifice made by those who have served across our Armed Forces.
"The RBL plant each and every tribute we receive, and members of the public can come and visit each site to see their tribute and to reflect and remember those who fell to serve our country."
Established in November 1928, the Poppy Factory took a group of disabled veterans, a tray of poppies and a collecting tin to the grounds of St Margaret's Church at Westminster Abbey.
It was not a large display, only a handful of poppies were planted around a single cross, but it caught the public's attention and began a tradition that has grown over the decades.
Over 90 years later, the Poppy Factory still organises the Field of Remembrance at Westminster, with RBL organising Fields of Remembrance in other five locations – Gateshead, Staffordshire, Belfast, Swindon and Cardiff.
Free nationwide rail travel
Military personnel and veterans attending services of remembrance will be able to travel to and from the events by train for free this month.
The offer will benefit people travelling to and from services anywhere in Britain on Remembrance Sunday on 12 November.
And veterans and serving personnel attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph can travel to any London terminal for free on Saturday 11 November or on the day itself – and be able to return home for free afterwards.
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