Tarmac donate materials to National Memorial Arboretum

Company provides 300 tonnes of gravel to help maintain place of remembrance

TARMAC have paid their own respects to those who have fallen in the service of their country, with a donation to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The business donated 300 tonnes of gravel to the memorial site for vital drainage work that will improve and enhance the experience of visitors to the Arboretum.

The gravel was delivered during the summer to aid with the final phase of works, including areas around the Christmas Truce Memorial, the Remembrance Glade, the Poppy Meadow, in Millennium Wood, and in the area near the British Evacuees Memorial.

Andy Ansell, head of estates at the National Memorial Arboretum, said: ‘We are grateful to our longstanding strategic partner Tarmac for this very generous donation.

‘The 300 tonnes of gravel were crucial to enabling the delivery of important drainage works in the northern portion of our 150-acre site. A huge thank you to Tarmac and their team at Alrewas Quarry who are always fantastic supporters of our work.’

Tarmac have enjoyed a close relationship with the National Memorial Arboretum since agreeing to lease the land to the east of the processing plant at Alrewas Quarry for a ‘peppercorn rent’ in 1994.

The 150-acre site has since evolved into an inspirational landscape, home to more than 400 memorials dedicated to the Armed Forces, emergency services, and voluntary organizations who serve this country.

Earlier this year, as part of the Arboretum’s commemorative programme marking 20 years since it opened to the public, it announced plans to transform a further tract of former quarry land, donated by Tarmac, into a Memorial Woodland dedicated to all those who have died as a result of the pandemic.

Mark Collier, manager at Alrewas Quarry, said: ‘We have a special bond with the National Memorial Arboretum. We are always keen to help where we can because the facility is such an important tribute to people who have lost their lives whilst serving their country.’