Members will recall that the original concrete Memorial, dedicated in 2003, eventually succumbed to the weather: its superb granite replacement was rededicated in 2015. However, the site, almost at the far north-west corner of the NMA’s estate, was susceptible to heavy flooding. It was also immediately adjacent to the estate’s workshops and vehicle park, and the very audible operational quarry just outside the NMA perimeter.

 

The combination of all these factors detracted greatly from the peace and the surrounds the Memorial should have enjoyed and, in early 2024, the Committee moved to have the Memorial re-sited. Assisted by the NMA’s Landscape and Memorials Team, plans to re-site the Memorial to a more peaceful and attractive setting were completed in late 2024. The Memorial was then lifted and moved in February 2025 and given a new limestone base edged with Welsh setts and fresh edging shrubbery.

 

On Wednesday 18th June 2025, the Association hosted an event at the NMA to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Dhofar War and to rededicate the Memorial. The first part of the service was conducted in the NMA’s Chapel and the second part, the rededication of the Memorial and the Act of Remembrance, took place at the Memorial at its new site on the north side of Yeomanry Avenue. Over 170 members, family and friends were present, and a Curry Lunch was held in the NMA’s Aspects Building after the service.

 

The SAF Memorial exists beyond definitions of time, race and creed - and it stands not only for those who served during the conflict, but also for those men and women who have maintained the tradition of that service through the years to the present day.

 

Please do visit the NMA at Alrewas, Staffordshire, and view our magnificent Memorial as well as the many other memorials at the site. The postcode is DE13 7AR.  The diagram below describes the new location of the memorial.  Click on the image to go to the NMA website.

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