Corps Memorial Garden – Incorporated in The Centurion Fund of the RAF Regiment
Annual Corps Memorial Commemoration Service 2026
Saturday 27th June 2026
The Annual Corps Memorial Commemoration Service will be held at the Corps Memorial Garden, at the National Memorial Arboretum on Armed Forces’ Day, Saturday 27th June 2026, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Founding CMG. The Flyer & Order of Service will be available for downloading shortly before the event. Please also monitor this website and the media for updates as to whether or how the event will be affected by external events.
MISSION
The Mission of the Corps Memorial Garden shall be to provide the principal, RAF Regiment-wide Memorial and Commemorative focus for the Corps.
The RAF Regiment Corps Memorial Garden (CMG) is situated within the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) at Alrewas in Staffordshire. The NMA’s inspiration was, in fact, driven by the concern of the late Group Captain Sir Leonard Cheshire VC, who felt that something positive should be done to remember forever our debt to those gave so much to defend our freedom.
It then fell to a retired Royal Naval officer, Commander David Childs CBE, to address that concern, and his inspiration was the US Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington DC. While the NMA is not, and never will be, a cemetery, it was established formally in 2001 as a British site of national remembrance, whose objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and civilian community. The NMA is now run by the Royal British Legion (RBL), with its main funding provided principally by the Ministry of Defence, the RBL and public donations. Entry to the NMA is free, although donations on departure are clearly welcome and needed. The NMA is a ‘must-do’ visit for anyone involved with the Services.
The Corps Memorial was dedicated on 5th April 2001 as one of the first Service Memorials at the NMA and thus has ‘Founder’ status within the organisation. Inauguration Day was exceptionally wet and windy, with the NMA site – bereft of trees in the beginning – pictured as a sea of mud. However, it failed to dampen the Dedication Service attended by the then Commandant General, Air Commodore Richard Moore, and some 300 serving and veteran Corps members, together with their partners and friends. And so the Corps Memorial Garden was born.
Since the muddy inception of the CMG, the NMA has grown and matured beyond recognition. The initial 90-acre site has nearly doubled in size, and there are literally hundreds of dedicated Memorials now in place, with more being added on most months. The Corps Memorial remains one of the more impressive memorials there; although there are bigger and more ornate memorials now present, the Corps Memorial has a quiet, understated but imposing dignity befitting the Corps’ history, recognising the part played by the tens of thousands of its members since 1942, together with the RAF Regiment’s antecedents in the RAF Armoured Car Companies (1921-46) and the RAF Ground Gunners (1940-42)
Since the CMG was established, the lawn, trees and hedges have matured, a new Drystone Wall – replacing an early brick backdrop and reminiscent of the vista on the Catterick training areas in North Yorkshire – has been built. Immediately in front of the Wall is an evocative ‘Fallen Gunner’ Memorial, reminding us of the ultimate sacrifice paid by Corps members over the decades since it was established
The original T-shaped pathway has been extended by a ‘Hollow Square’ from the Corps Memorial up to the Drystone Wall, where significant RAF Regiment and RAF Armoured Car Companies’ Theatres and campaigns- and the associated 27 Battle Honours, are commemorated. There are also developing 5- and 10-Year Plans to enable further improvements to be made in the coming years to enhance the whole CMG experience and to educate and inform the visitors, many of whom have little or no previous knowledge of the Corps.
Another facility is that of the Memorial and Commemorative Stones, placed in the pathway of the CMG, on which inscriptions record individuals, Corps formations and events. Individual Memorial Stones may be commissioned for any former (ie RAF Regiment Flash-badged) and passed member of the Corps. A list of those individuals so honoured will be provided in due course on the CMG Webpage on the Centurion Fund website. A recent provision has been the addition of ‘Reserved Placement’ stones, whereby an individual may ‘plan ahead’ and reserve a particular position in the pathway – perhaps with old comrades or in a unit cluster?
Although the CMG is the venue for many Corps and individual-related celebrations and commemorations each year, its principal event is the Annual Corps Memorial Commemoration Service held on Armed Forces’ Day on the last Saturday of June. This is a highly popular event, normally attended by the Commandant General of the RAF Regiment and graced with the presence of The Queen’s Colour for the RAF Regiment. One for the Diary each year!
Recognising the need to put the CMG on a more formal footing, it was decided to incorporate the CMG within the RAF Regiment’s registered charity arm, The Centurion Fund. From the 1st May 2020, an Executive Council (Exco) was established, through its Constitution, as a sub-committee of the Fund, “to formulate the CMG policy, execute facility management, ensure its efficient running and
maintenance, and maintain at all times the dignity and gravitas required of the Corps’ dedicated Memorial and its environs”.
The Executive Council (Exco) comprises a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer, with further members representing Memorials, Grounds, Historical Advice, Serving and Veteran Members and the various RAF Regiment-related associations. It is also affiliated to the RAF Regiment Heritage Centre, with its Curator also a member of the Exco. Primary funding for the annual maintenance costs falls to The Centurion Fund. At the same time, the various projects may be funded, in part, by The Centurion Fund, the associations, through crowdfunding, and by private subscription within and beyond the Corps family. Further details of the CMG Constitution and its Exco will be found on the Centurion Fund website*.
Download the Corps Memorial Garden Flyer by clicking here.
INDIVIDUAL MEMORIAL AND UNIT COMMEMORATIVE STONES
Details of the Individual Memorial and Unit Commemorative stones – and how to order – may be found and downloaded by clicking here.
A list of those passed members of the Corps honoured with Individual Memorial Stones – and where they are located – may be found and downloaded by clicking here.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
As at 4 May 2026
Members:
- Chairman: Wg Cdr Martin HOOKER MBE RAF Regt (Retd)
- Chairman Designate: Gp Capt Mark DRIVER RAF Regt (Retd)
- Vice-Chairman: WO Harry FOXLEY
- Secretary-Treasurer: Wg Cdr Martin HOOKER
- Treasurer Designate: Wg Cdr Frank XAVIER
- Grounds Member: Bill SHORE
- Memorials Member: Wg Cdr Martin HOOKER
- Serving Member: WO Steven LANGTON RAF Regt
- Veterans’ Member: Mr Harry FOXLEY
- Royal Body Guards Member: DSM Ben BENNETT
- Families’ Member: Mrs Jacqui THOMPSON
- Historical Advisor: Gp Capt John ALEXANDER RAF Regt (Res)
- RAF Regt Assoc: Mr Gary (Gaz) COLLINS
- WOs & NCOs Assoc: Mr John LYNCH
- RAF Armoured Cars Assoc: Mr John ROLPH
- RAF Regt Heritage Centre: WO Mac MacDONALD MBE
CMG CONSTITUTION
The RAF Regiment’s Corps Memorial Garden Constitution can be downloaded by Click Here
LOCATION
The CMG and NMA is located at: Croxall Rd, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 7AR.
The CMG itself is located near the end of Gifford Avenue, on the left, near to the Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW) building.
ASSOCIATED WEBSITES & WEBPAGES
- CMG is at: : https://www.centurionfund.co.uk/ **
- NMA is at: http://www.thenma.org.uk/
- Centurion Fund is at: https://www.centurionfund.co.uk/
- RAF Regiment Heritage Centre is at: https://rafregimentheritagecentre.org.uk/
- Association of RAF Regiment Warrant Officers and SNCOs is at: http://www.rafregtwoandsnco.org.uk/
** Webpage under development and some facilities may not be available [Version: 210620
