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Proposed Memorial to Quaker Service

at the National Memorial Arboretum

A reminder of our testimonies to Peace, Simplicity, Truth,

and Equality will be offered at the base of the four seats.

The immediate purpose of the memorial will be remembrance of the service by Friends Ambulance Unit and Friends Relief Service during World War II.  For the Society today it will also be an opportunity for outreach.  Some 300,000 people visit the National Memorial Arboretum, at Alrewas near Lichfield, each year.  A memorial which is explicit in its statement of Friends' witness and commitment to peace may well find resonance, provided its message draws on our common humanity.

There will be six texts, four carved on the backs of the stone seats and two on the front.  The wording will need to be succinct.  The proposed wording on the backs of seats is:

1: FRIENDS AMBULANCE SERVICE  -  The Unit enabled conscientious objectors to serve in theatres of war.  They cared for civilian and military casualties of any nation in both World Wars.  Seventeen members were killed in World War II.

2: FRIENDS RELIEF SERVICE  -  The Service was set up in 1939 to relieve civilian distress in practical ways.  It worked in a spirit of peace at a time of war in the UK, Europe and further afield.

3: NOBEL PEACE PRIZE  -  "It is the silent help from the nameless to the nameless which is the Quakers' contribution to the promotion of brotherhood between nations"  Citation from the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Quakers in 1947.

On the front

"Let your life speak, answering that of God in everyone"

George Fox, 1624 - 1691, founder of Quakerism.

4: RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS):  The Society emerged after the civil war of the 1640's with a commitment to live by the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all wars".  Quakers continue to work worldwide for peace and reconciliation.

On the front

Quaker meetings for worship are often held in a circle, a symbol of unity and equality.

Wording adapted from Meeting for Suffering agenda, 2 April 2011.

The memorial has received the approval of Meeting for Sufferings and the Arboretum Trustees.  The Staffordshire Area Meeting working party (Clerk: Anthony Wilson, 10, Beacon Mews, Lichfield, Staffs WS13 7AH.  Tel..01543 258016 or E-mail Anthony Wilson) is taking the proposal forward.

We have selected la tieul limestone, from the south of France: exceptionally hard, maintains its pale colour when wet, and carries carved lettering very clearly over many decades.
Contracts with our supplier and installer are now being negotiated. Construction work will begin in the spring of 2012, and last two months.

The site allocated is near to the wild flower meadow in the Arboretum, in open space between woodland.

The Quaker Service Memorial Fund is now a registered charity no. 1142335, with Peter Holland, Paula Knight, Helen Lockwood and Anthony Wilson, all of Staffordshire AQM, the initial trustees. Additional appointments will be made from other AMs. A bank account will soon be opened with the Co-Op Bank. 

The appeal for £80,000 to cover the cost of construction was launched at Yearly Meeting Gathering, Canterbury, on 3 August. Contributions should be made payable to the Quaker Service Memorial Trust, and forwarded to Anthony Wilson (at the above address) The leaflet is available in hard copy, but you may also download it and print your own copy using the following .pdf files:

Quaker Service Memorial Appeal Leaflet (inside)

Quaker Service Memorial Appeal Leaflet (outside)

Visits to our location in the National Arboretum are being arranged for Friends from round the country who can be met at train stations, on 15 October. Lichfield and Burton are the stations.
The site can be accessed by bus No 7 from both towns, if you want low carbon all the way. Further details from Helen Lockwood, 01785 286612 or Paula Knight 01283 791214
 

Further information and images of the proposed memorial are given in the February 2012 and June 2011 editions of the Staffordshire Quaker.