Desert Rats dedicate their memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
Former and serving Desert Rats have gathered at the National Memorial Arboretum to dedicate a memorial to those who served, fought and died for the formation on the 80th anniversary of the second Battle of El Alamein.
Conducted by the padres from the Desert Rats Association, 4th Infantry Brigade and the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team – the current Desert Rats – the service saw a musical performance and a blessing of the memorial.
The sculpture features a steel jerboa on a stone plinth carved by veterans to resemble sand dunes – the rodent is the formation's insignia.
It stands more than two metres high and is oriented towards El Alamein, the Egyptian site of the battle which turned the North African campaign during the Second World War.
The memorial is also accompanied by the 7th Armoured Division's stone 'signpost' memorial that replaced the original signpost marking the end of the wartime journey from the deserts of North Africa in 1945.
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