St George's Ladies Group

Our first meeting of 2009 started off with a talk and slide evening by Owen Neal of The Arboretum Memorial.

It was founded in 1988 by Revd David Childs. He was working with Leonard Cheshire, who was the founder of the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation with his wife Sue Ryder. At present the site is 150 acres. The first tree was planted in 1988 and now there are over 60,000 trees representing many different monuments.

Their logo is a Dove with Mother of Pearl and Acorns. The Revd Childs is the organiser and has written two books, which can be found in the library, one being titled ‘Growing Remembrance’.

There is a Chapel in the grounds with twelve Douglas Firs as the pillars which represent the twelve apostles. On the door is a Millennium Prayer carved in cherrywood, written by Anna Crompton aged 13 years. She won a competition to write the prayer, which reads:

Dear Lord our Heavenly Father
At the dawn of a new millennium
In a world of darkness give us your light
In lands of war and prejudice grant us peace
In a world of despair give us hope.
In a world of sadness and tears show us your joy.
In a world of hatred show us your love.
In a world of arrogance give us your humility.
In a world of disbelief give us faith.
Give us the courage to face the challenges of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless and healing the sick. Give us the power to make a difference in your world and protect your creation.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

In the Chapel there is ash seating and the kneelers are made by the W.I. On the altar there are two wooden crosses, one open and one closed. There is a service every morning at 11.am. Also there are beautiful carved figures of the Storyteller and children sitting on the stairs and floor listening to Jesus telling them stories.

From Robert Peel’s former home there are chestnut trees in an Avenue called ‘The Beat’. There is the First World War Memorial for those who were shot at dawn. A statue stands blind folded and with hands tied behind his back. There are posts with plaques on them saying their name and dates. Then there is the War Widows’ garden with lots of different flowers. It looks a very peaceful place. The Garden of Innocents is a children’s garden based on Anne Frank’s story. There are many more, Mr Neal had many slides that we did not have time to see.

The Arboretum is in Lichfield, Staffordshire, open every day, entrance £7.50, very good value with so much to see.

Priscilla Barlow