Queen opens war memorial
Updated on 12 October 2007
A memorial honouring the thousands of servicemen and women killed since the end of the Second World War was unveiled today in a special dedication attended by the Queen.
The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall joined the Queen at a ceremony for the new National Armed Forces Memorial, which pays tribute to members of the UK's Armed Forces killed on duty or as a result of terrorist action since 1948.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, MPs and service personal watched as the royal party toured the memorial and spoke to the families of those whose names appear or will appear on the memorial's Portland stone walls.
The Queen paused to examine the name of her cousin, Earl Mountbatten, who was killed by a Provisional IRA bomb in Ireland in 1979.
'There will be sorrow for family and friends who come here, but I hope they will also be uplifted and proud.'Vice-Admiral Sir John Dunt
There are almost 16,000 names carved on the memorial, at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Alrewas, Staffordshire, with space for 15,000 more, including those who have died in Palestine, Korea, Malaysia, the Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.
Almost £7m has been donated by the public to construct the memorial, with a further £1m needed to maintain it.
During the service, family and friends of some of those killed in conflict read tributes to their loved ones. Nine-year-old Georgina Chapman whose father, Darren Chapman, was killed in Iraq in May last year, read out a letter to him.
Opening the ceremony, Vice-Admiral Sir John Dunt, chairman of the Armed Forces Memorial Trustees, said: "I hope that those who have been bereaved and colleagues of those whose names are engraved find this a fitting place to remember and reflect.
"There will be sorrow for family and friends who come here, but I hope they will also be uplifted and proud - proud that these men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice have done so by serving their country."
In a statement published in the ceremony's programme, Prince Charles said: "The scale of this memorial is a poignant reminder to us all of the continuing cost of the democracy and freedom we enjoy, as well as the constant sacrifices being made on our behalf around the world."
The hour-long service included prayers by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, hymns and a reading by the Duke of Edinburgh. It was followed by a flypast of nine RAF aircraft from across different decades.
The Armed Forces Memorial will open to visitors on 29 Oct.
