- COMBINED OPERATIONS MEMORIAL -

As with all who sacrificed their lives humanity owes them a debt which can NEVER be repaid… the Merchant Navy have Tower Hill, the Royal Navy have Chatham Portsmouth, the Royal Air Force have Runneymede, and so on…. and so they should, but I feel the contribution made by the collective units of Combined Operations, and those who died during operations, has gone without commemoration for far too long. I.G.

The memorial will be erected in the Allied Special Forces Association (ASFA) grove at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) in Staffordshire. The design top left, or something similar, will be presented to the NMA trustees in the coming months. The pathway will be suitable for wheel chairs and buggies, the insignia will be a mosaic and the pink areas around the standing stones (designated SS1 etc on the plan) will be planted with Scottish Highland heather so familiar to the Commandos and other servicemen who trained there in their thousands. [Photos courtesy of Mike Colton of the ASFA which show, in order, the general layout of the design on the ground, the layout with chairs representing the position of the standing stones and the same plus Mike and his team representing the position of the trees. Anyone who smiled at the last of the photos is forgiven!]

There is a high level of symbolism in the design and content of the memorial. Combined Operations drew upon the resources and best practices from the Army, Navy and Air Force - 3 services represented by 3 trees, 3 stones and a 3 sided equilateral triangle. The overall spear-head shape is that of the archetypal attack formation and the stones and heather come from an area of Scotland where hundreds of thousands trained in amphibious landing techniques under the auspices of Combined Operations. There's more information below on the design and content.

We are indebted to the War Memorials Trust for advice, information and support generously given since the inception of the memorial project. Offers of help, ideas or comments will be warmly welcomed - contact us here.

This website memorial wall shows progress to date with each block representing £50.00. When the wall is complete the fund will stand at an impressive £10,000. The current total is £7550 - £6,550 in cash donations and an estimated £1,000 in sponsorships.

Bricks with initials, or name, gratefully acknowledge receipt of a single donation of £50.00. Such donations can be made to honour the name of a veteran.

The Stones.
 
Four large stones and a few tons of smaller stones have been generously donated by Danny Bonnar of Clachan Quarries, Loch Fyne, Scotland. The quarry is located in the area where 250,000 service personnel underwent training in ‘small craft’ amphibious landing techniques under the Combined Operations Command. This will ensure a strong symbolic association between the area and the memorial.

Horizontal Stone. The cane is 3 ft in length	Standing Stone 1	Standing Stone 2	Standing Stone 3	Loose Stones for Cairn or Wall(s)	Example of Cairn about 8 ft high

The Trees

Three trees have been planted around the site of the memorial chosen for their symbolic association with the three services... oak for the Navy, ash for Army and spruce for the RAF. Oak was used in the construction of the early wooden battle ships of the Navy including HMS Victory, ash was used in the construction of wheels and limbers for the artillery, frames and wheels for field transport (RAMC and RASC lorries), pick-axe handles and the rings for rope ladders, and spruce was used in the construction of early 'stick and string' planes. We are indebted to the RN Naval Historical Branch, the RAF Historical Society and Mr Dick Stimpson for their help in the selection of the trees.

Down each side of the grove trees have been planted in remembrance of the many special forces units. In time these trees will grow to form a mature tree lined grove. In this serene and beautiful setting the Combined Operations Memorial will be positioned. [Photos opposite and  plan of Arboretum (below) courtesy of The Allied Special Forces Association].

The Plaques

The memorial will comprise items numbered 1, 2 and 5 below with options on the others. Metal or marble plaques will be secured to the stones.

 ~ The Memorial Site ~ 

The memorial will be situated in the grove of the Allied Special Forces Association within the grounds of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, England. The position of the memorial is presently indicated by a temporary wooden post bearing the following inscription...

On this site a Memorial will be erected to all those who died on active service and during training exercises while serving with the Combined Operations Command. D-Day, the 6th of June 1944, would not have been possible without Combined Operations. We owe them a debt of gratitude. To help or donate contact Geoff Slee on 0131 477 2742 or visit www.combinedops.com for more information.
 

 ~ Background ~

Many thousands died while serving in the Combined Operations Command, or in support of its raids and landings. The memorial will therefore..

•  remember those who were killed in action or in training while serving in Combined Operations,

•  pay tribute to all who served in Combined Operations from the three services of the Allied nations,

•  celebrate the wider achievements of Combined Operations - Mulberry, PLUTO, Hobart's Funnies (innovative adaptations to tanks) etc.,

•  perpetuate the memory of Combined Operations by providing free access to information on this website,

•  encourage young people to use the website for educational and/or family research purposes.

The website will be an integral part of the proposed memorial project and the memorial itself will be prominently featured on the website. For those unable to visit the physical memorial the Internet presence will provide a focus for reflection and remembrance. The memorial will display the website URL.

Those who served the Allied cause in Combined Operations have earned the right to be recognised and remembered. After all they trained together, they served together and they died together. It is time to remember them... together.

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