ABOVE: Service men and women attending the unveiling of the renovations.
Nestled in the serene landscape of Alrewas, the National Memorial Arboretum stands as a profound Garden of National Remembrance. With nearly 400 memorials and thousands of commemorative trees, it honours His Majesty’s Armed Forces who have served in military campaigns since the early 20th century.
Amongst these memorials lies a striking tribute to the Royal Welsh Regiment, carved from the enduring beauty of Welsh slate—a material deeply symbolic of the regiment’s heritage.
ABOVE: We documented the entire fixing process on-site through the above video.
In 2015, the Royal Welsh Regiment embarked on an ambitious journey to restore and enhance their war memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The initial memorial featured a single, majestic Heather Blue Welsh slate boulder from Blaenau Ffestiniog. Adorned with a simple dark grey inset plaque, it bore the poignant bilingual inscription:
The cry of battle fills the wind
And the blood of lads mingles with the rain
We will remember them
Ni a’I cofion hwy
While the memorial’s simplicity was powerful, members of the regiment felt it needed further enhancement to better reflect the scale of the regiment’s contributions and to bring it in line with the grandeur of other memorials within the Arboretum.
BELOW: The memorial in 2015 before the renovation.
Amidst the serene beauty of the Arboretum, the memorial was beginning to show its age. The gravel pathways, designed to echo the five black ribbons stitched into the regiment’s tunics, had lost their sharp definition.
The grand Heather Blue Welsh slate boulder, standing nearly nine feet tall at the heart of the site, had weathered over time and its engraved plaque was in dire need of repair. To breathe new life into this sacred space, the regiment turned to the skilled hands of Mossfords Memorial Masons and their special projects division, War Memorial Conservation Co.
BELOW: Black ribbons as worn by the Royal Welsh Regiment.
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ABOVE: The stone chipping pathway was no longer presentable and the mountings for the plaque had been compromised over time.
ABOVE: The masonry detailing surrounding the boulder was in poor state.
The Vision
Mossfords and War Memorial Conservation Co. began by drafting an ambitious redesign that would both preserve and elevate the original memorial’s symbolic integrity. Their plans retained the essence of Welsh slate—already central to the site—with new design elements that seamlessly integrated into the existing memorial.
The centerpiece of the proposal was a curved wall of stacked leaf slate constructed using Mossfords’ signature ‘echelon slate work’ technique, positioned to embrace the iconic boulder. This wall was to serve as a storytelling medium, featuring six slate plates engraved with the regimental emblems of the six historic Welsh regiments:
- The Royal Welch Fusiliers
- The South Wales Borderers
- The Royal Welch Regiment
- The Monmouthshire Regiment
- The Royal Regiment of Wales
- The Royal Welsh Regiment (current)
Each emblem was carefully adorned with colored enamel, bringing vivid detail to the stone’s natural texture. Mossfords’ expertise in similar slate projects, including their work on the entrance to Thornhill Cemetery and Crematorium in Cardiff, lent confidence to the regiment’s trust in their craftsmanship.
ABOVE: The exceptional leaf slate signage and wall with embedded silver engraved roundel at Thornhill Cemetery and Crematorium – built by Mossfords Memorial Masons.
ABOVE: An initial design concept with leaf slate benches.
In front of the central boulder, the gravel pathway—while deeply symbolic—had become impractical and worn over time.
To address this, Mossfords replaced it with slate paving, a material that mirrored the cover slabs set atop the curved wall. This choice not only ensured durability but also maintained visual harmony with the rest of the site.
ABOVE: Plans for the new slate paving at the memorial site.
The Fixing
ABOVE: Digging the foundations for the paving area.
ABOVE: Laying the concrete foundations for the paving.
ABOVE: The finished slate paving being cleaned.
ABOVE: New concrete foundations being laid for the new curved wall.
ABOVE: Building the curved wall behind the boulder.
ABOVE: Laying the leaf slate stacks.
At the Royal Welsh Regiment’s request, Mossfords incorporated a hidden document within the construction of the site wall – a silent yet enduring tribute to the history and values of the regiment. The exact contents remain a closely guarded secret, a private honour for future generations to uncover.
ABOVE: The hidden document protected by the masonry.
ABOVE: The regimental emblems embedded in the wall.
ABOVE: Completing the wall with the Welsh Slate coping stones.
The slate plaque originally affixed to the boulder featured an evocative extract from the poetry of Hedd Wyn, honouring the fallen soldiers. However, years of exposure had taken their toll, and a replacement was essential. In its place, Mossfords’ master craftsmen carved a new plaque and fitted it on-site as the immense weight and immovability of the boulder.
A specially commissioned bronze replica of the Royal Welsh Regiment’s cap badge was crafted by Bronze Age, the world-famous London foundry. Using a hand-carved wax mould, the badge was cast, patinated and protected with wax coatings, then mounted prominently on the boulder’s front face, lending it a distinctive regimental identity.
ABOVE: The wax carving of the Royal Welsh Regiment cap badge.
BELOW: A later design replaced the benched with information plinths – adorned with inscripted white enamel fleur-de-lis slate plate and silver inscribed top tablet. See also the plan for the placement of the plinths.
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ABOVE: The completed bronze emblem fitted to the boulder.
ABOVE: The slate plaque engraved by hand and finished in silver.
ABOVE: The embedded slate plaque fitted.
ABOVE: The memorial site with all embellishments fitted to the boulder.
A Tribute
The renovation of the Royal Welsh Regiment’s memorial was a labor of love, patience, and unparalleled craftsmanship. Mossfords and War Memorial Conservation Co. succeeded not only in restoring the site but in elevating its symbolic resonance. Today, at The National Memorial Arboretum, the memorial stands as a proud testament to the regiment’s storied history, a place of reflection for all who visit.
Through the meticulous efforts of stonemasons and artisans, the Royal Welsh Regiment ensured that their memorial would endure as a beacon of remembrance, preserving the legacy of the fallen for generations to come.
ABOVE: A remarkable gathering of service men and women at the unveiling of the Royal Welsh Regiment memorial.
The Plinths
By 2018, the transformation was nearly complete. The regiment sought to further enhance the site with the addition of two plinths, echoing the curved wall’s design and composition.
These plinths, crafted in Mossfords’ South Wales workshop, were adorned with slate emblem plates and inscribed with silver lettering recounting the regiment’s history. These additions provided a sense of balance and completeness to the site, further enriching the storytelling woven into the memorial.
ABOVE: A later design replaced the benches seen before with information plinths – adorned with inscripted white enamel fleur-de-lis slate plate and silver inscribed top tablet. See also the plan for the placement of the plinths.
ABOVE: Design visuals of how the plinths were to appear on-site.
ABOVE: The pre-made slate plinths being installed on-site.
ABOVE: The finished slate site adorned with the new plinths.
