One of the important recommendations in the LGBT Veterans Independent Review by Lord Etherton was that there should be a Government funded public memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, to all LGBT people who have served and continue to serve in the military. The Government has agreed to fund a Memorial and has allocated a grant to Fighting With Pride for this purpose.
Critical elements of the project are that the Memorial should reflect the views of the LGBT serving and veteran community and that the memorial will provide an appropriate environment for remembrance, build community pride and raise broader awareness of the LGBT Armed Forces community and their experiences. The Memorial will also aim to improve the health and wellbeing of LGBT Veterans, serving personnel and their families, through active recognition and inclusion of the LGBT Armed Forces community.
The design of the memorial will be done in collaboration by a wide variety of organisations, including those which have the support and respect of veterans who served under and suffered from, the Ban (R17 and R18 of the review report). We are proud to be working with the following on the LGBT Armed Forces Community Memorial:
Royal British Legion, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, National Memorial Arboretum, Office for Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Stonewall, LGBT Foundation, Women’s Royal Army Corps Association, Help for Heroes, SaluteHer, Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
Honorary Art Advisors: David Tovey
Fighting With Pride have now started to engage with the LGBT Armed Forces Community to gather ideas to help design an appropriate memorial. A Steering Group has been established, comprising of individuals from organisations and charities with deep knowledge of memorialisation, together with Veterans and serving personnel.
Regional meetings are planned in Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Blackpool in September to facilitate community involvement and there will also be virtual Townhalls to ensure maximum participation. The plan is to have options from the community consultation, refined by the Steering Group and passed to the Fighting With Pride Board of Trustees in November to enable a design decision to be taken. This will be followed by a transparent tender phase and site preparation, construction with a view to an unveiling ceremony in Summer/Autumn 2025.
Fighting With Pride will communicate regular updates via the website and monthly newsletter which will feature regular articles, and bespoke updates will be provided as appropriate. The aim is to ensure that everyone interested in this important and exciting project and is kept up to date with progress.
Portsmouth on Monday 9 September from 1300 to 1600 at Agamemnon Housing, Sirius Court, Sackville Street, Portsmouth PO5 4HA. To register, please fill out the form here.
Edinburgh on Friday 13 September from 1200 to 1500, City Chambers (Lord Provost rooms), High Street, EH1 1YJ. To register, please fill out the form here.
Blackpool on Saturday 21 September from 1515 to 1615, Blackpool Football Club Stadium, FY1 6JJ. To register, please fill out the form here.
Cardiff on Thursday 3 October, from 1230 to 1430, The Royal British Legion, 18-19 High St, CF10 1PT. To register, please fill out the form here.
This is your opportunity to make your voice heard and to tell us what you would like to see in the memorial. Whilst your personal ideas might not be fully incorporated, rest assured that all responses will be considered when the design brief is drawn up.
Roly Woods has been appointed by the Fighting With Pride Board of Trustees to lead this important project as Memorial Officer, very ably assisted by his Deputy, Kevin Bazeley. You can find out more about the Memorial Team here.
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