Recognition: Memorials and Medals

Many families place  great importance on the  recognition given to a life lost in  the services. Sadly with recognition also comes disappointment when some people do not get medals or the  recognition their family feel they should have.  Further information on medals is available through the  Service Personnel and Veterans Agency and through the Ministry of Defence, where there are full details too of the new Elizabeth Cross and Scroll and the Veteran's Badge, available to widows of the deceased. There are very strict eligibility criteria for these so please check carefully to ensure you meet them.
Click here for the special area on the Ministry of Defence website.

The Armed Forces Memorial – is located it the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas near Lichfield in Staffordshire. Each year a service of dedication is held to dedicate the names of those  added from the preceding year.  Next of Kin and immediate family will receive an invitation but the numbers are restricted as the service is held inside the memorial itself.
For more information please click here.

The  inscription on the Obelisk of the Armed Forces Memorial  states that it is in memory of all who died while serving their country. In addition all those who have been killed on duty or died in a theatre of war or by terrorist activity  since 1947 are inscribed on  the memorial. Each year the names of those  who in the preceding year died and who  fullfill the criteria are dedicated at a ceremony. A certificate commemorating these deaths can be downloaded from the website.
Click here for full details.

Rolls of Honour
Each Service  has or is developing a Roll of Honour with the names of all its deceased personnel inscribed in Books of Remembrance.

The Royal  Navy  and Royal Marines Rolls of Honour will be available in St Martin's in the Fields.
The Army Rolls of Honour will be available in the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
(These are currently being prepared and are not, as of  September 2009, yet in place; do check before you plan a visit to see them.)
The RAF Roll of Honour is in place and can be viewed in St Clement Danes Church , The Strand  London.

Forces Conflict Memorial
This is placed in the cloisters of  Westminster Abbey.

Other Memorials
Individual units and stations may also have their own memorials. The Visiting Offier should be able to advise. Local Councils can be approached for names of those who die on operations to be added to existing war memorials. The British Legion can advise.

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