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 agreed to fund a Memorial and allocated a grant to Fighting With Pride for this purpose.
Critical elements of the project were that the Memorial would reflect the views of the LGBT serving and veteran community and that the memorial would provide an appropriate environment for reflection & remembrance, build community pride and raise broader awareness of the LGBT Armed Forces community and their experiences.
The Memorial would 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 came about in collaboration with a wide variety of organisations, including those which have the support and respect of veterans who served under and suffered from, the Ban. FWP were proud to work 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, SSAFA. Also our Honorary Art Advisor, Lucy Ash.
Fighting With Pride worked extensively with the LGBT Armed Forces Community to gather ideas that became the design brief for the memorial. A Steering Group was established, comprising of individuals from organisations and charities with deep knowledge of memorialisation, together with Veterans and serving personnel.
FWP held regional meetings in Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Blackpool to facilitate community involvement alongside virtual Townhalls to ensure maximum participation. From all of this came a design brief that was turned into a nationwide competition by our friends at the Royal Society of Sculptors.
The design competition resulted in 38 incredible entries which our judging panel reduced to 5 for a shortlist competition. The winner of which was announced on 10th January 2025, ‘An Opened Letter’ by the Abraxas Academy from Norfolk.
Roly Woods took the 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.
On Monday, 27th October 2025 an emotionally charged dedication event for the LGBT+ Armed Forces Community Memorial took place at the National Memorial Arboretum. His Majesty The King attended in his first formal appearance at an LGBTQ+ event and was guest of honour in front of 90 Veterans, 90 current serving Personnel and 100 other invited guests.
Those guests included many veterans from the history of the campaign including Elaine Chambers and Robert Ely of Rank Outsiders, Jeanette Smith, Graeme Grady, John Beckett and Duncan Lustig-Prean the ECHR4, Ed Hall from the Armed Forces Legal Challenge Group and current chair of the board of trustees for FWP and the Founders of FWP, Craig Jones MBE, Caroline Paige MBE and Patrick Lyster-Todd.
Heartfelt and impassioned speeches from Brigadier Clare Phillips, Ed Hall and Louise Sander-Jones MP Veterans Minister were given, before The King and others laid flowers on the memorial base. Before departing The King spoke with Veterans and current Serving Personnel from the LGBT+ Armed Forces Community.
This was an incredible day for Veterans and Serving Personnel alike being the final apology from the state that was needed.
There is still work to be done, not least finding every veteran who is due reparations under the non-financial and financial schemes, but this key recommendation from Lord Etherton’s review is now well and truly delivered.
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