Monument made in Westbury commemorates Falklands’ heroes

A NEW national Falklands memorial, which was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire last weekend in front of the world’s media, was designed and built by Young Johnson Monumental Masons in Westbury.
The curved wall, made of Cotswold stone, which is around 30ft long and 7ft high, is a tribute to the 255 British soldiers, sailors and aircrew who lost their lives in the Falklands conflict. The memorial echoes a commemorative wall in San Carlos, in the Falkland Islands and was commissioned by The South Atlantic Medal Association (SAMA82), who wanted a place for veterans and families who cannot travel to San Carlos. Hundreds of ex-service personnel and their families joined current personnel for the commemorative ceremony, which marked the 30th anniversary of the landings on the Falkland Islands in 1982. It was followed by a flypast from a Vulcan bomber and three military helicopters. Monumental mason, Nick Johnson, designed and carved the memorial from his workshop in the West Wiltshire Craft Centre in Westbury. Nick Johnson, who attended the dedication ceremony said, “It’s taken us around two months to make, although we started on it last year. I met with people from SAMA82 who had some ideas and I came up with the final design for them to approve. It’s made of Cotswold stone, and also has some rocks which were selected on the Falklands and sent to me.” The memorial includes the Joint Service Operations crest, and six flanking plaques engraved with a crest of the participating military and civilian forces; Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Merchant Navy. Young Johnson is a specialist masonry firm based outside Westbury cemetery, who craft many different requirements from personal headstones to large national memorials. They have already designed and built a number of monuments in the arboretum, including the Basra Memorial Wall, which honours the UK dead of the Iraq war. Nick said, “We’ve got the massive memorials up in the arboretum, but the work we do around here is just as important.”