30-Jun-2019

CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE - JULY 2019

June 2019 has been a landmark month in the life of our project. When our contractors began work on the site and raised the level by a couple of metres, the splendid view over Gold Beach became even more apparent. The installation of the powerful and moving sculpture by David Williams-Ellis means that the centrepiece of our Memorial is now in place.  The view and sculpture provided an unforgettable backdrop for the inauguration ceremony held in bright sunshine early on 6 June in the presence of several veterans. We were very fortunate to be joined by President Macron and Prime Minister May, both of whom made excellent speeches supporting the Memorial project. I hope you were able to watch the TV coverage!

We have been very grateful for the many donations we have continued to receive. The Daily Mail’s fundraising campaign has yielded a magnificent response and we are grateful too to the many people who’ve responded to the trust’s “Sacrifice for Freedom” campaign with their own fundraising projects: money has been donated from sacrificed holidays, skydives and half marathons are being completed in support of the Memorial (among other things) and, of course, our champion Veteran fundraiser Harry Billinge continues to amaze us with his solo efforts in his home town of St Austell . On behalf of the board of trustees: thank you so much: we appreciate all these efforts.

Now the site is back in the hands of the building contractors, and the sculpture boarded up to protect it. So please don’t try and visit: there is nothing to see and no public access. We will be sure to keep you informed of the progress of the work in preparation for the completion of the main works next summer. At that point, visits will be welcome!

Lord Peter Ricketts

June 2019