A coachload of 49 members visited Lichfield on August 16^th, 2008. The city was founded in the first century, and has many academic and ecclesiastical associations - notably Samuel Johnson, Erasmus Darwin and David Garrick amongst them.

Fanning out from the cathedral, the two guides took their separate groups on an informative tour of this compact and beautiful city.

After free time, members rejoined the coach for the short journey to the National Memorial Arboretum, This covers an area of 150 acres and comprises various memorials in remembrance of people who have died in conflicts.

It was established in 1997 and is sited on former gravel workings. At the present time there are 152 memorials but more are being established on a regular basis.   The most impressive is the recently opened Armed Forces Memorial,  with over 16,000 names inscribed on the Portland Stone, (remember these are people who have died as a result of conflicts since World War Two)

After a brief talk in the chapel members were able to tour the site at leisure, or perhaps conduct their own act of remembrance.  Perhaps the most poignant memorial we found was the "Shot at Dawn" from the first war: 306 stark posts with details of the soldier attached, some only aged 17.

This visit could only scratch the surface of both Lichfield and the Arboretum, but perhaps it has given some members the appetite for a return trip.