A weekend away.

**Mike_Oettle** · 12th March 12, 12:47 PM

Great pictures, John!
I also was unaware of this arboretum, and I applaud the variety of tributes paid – to the fighting men of various services, to those who served at sea and near the shores, and also to those who were shot for “cowardice”. They did not deserve to die that way.
Regards,
Mike

**starbkjrus** · 13th March 12, 11:38 AM

Lovely weekend John!

Thanks for sharing the pics.

**McClef** · 13th March 12, 12:20 PM

John will have to go back again now, taking the Quaich with him!

**English Bloke** · 13th March 12, 07:48 PM

For those who are interested and who may want to stop off should they be passing, it's located between Lichfield and Burton-upon-Trent off the A38. The website with directions is here:

http://www.thenma.org.uk/index#

Doesn't work too well in Firefox. Works ok in updated IE.

**azwildcat96** · 13th March 12, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by English Bloke

The ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) Statue. ATS were young women aged between 19 and 23, serving during World War Two and it was the predecesor to the Womens Royal Army Corps.

Thanks John, this one hit home a bit...We recently buried my grandmother after 92 years on this Earth. She served in the WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps) during WWII, and was stationed in Pearl Harbor, after the attack. She was shipped back home a few months after we dropped the bombs, ending the war. Seeing this memorial to her English counter-parts is awesome.

**English Bloke** · 13th March 12, 09:08 PM

My condolences Wildcat.

Sharper picture of the memorial here. A notable ATS member was HM Queen Elizabeth so your Grandmother would have been in esteemed company.

(Not my picture I might add - More info at Wiki...)

**bigdad1** · 13th March 12, 09:35 PM

Those are wonderful pictures of more wonderful monuments. Thank you for sharing those with us. They are very touching and bring to mind the horror and waste of war.

**SlackerDrummer** · 14th March 12, 09:46 PM

Great pics, John. And they've reaffirmed that I LOVE that kilt.

**Alan H** · 15th March 12, 03:05 PM

Thank you.

**Mike_Oettle** · 16th March 12, 09:30 AM

Near Burton-on-Trent, you say, John?
Sounds like an excellent reason to go for a burton.
Regards,
Mike

[For those not familiar with the expression, it originally referred to a person going down to the pub (tavern) for a drink of beer from Burton-on-Trent. In the Royal Air Force it acquired a euphemistic slang meaning referring to the non-return of air crews from raids across the Channel. My reference is to the beer, not to a loss of airmen.]