The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces National Memorial, which is located at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, commemorates those members of the Regiment and Airborne Forces who have died on active service since 1940 and provides a place of pilgrimage, particularly to those who have lost family members overseas in inaccessible countries.
Around one thousand people attended the dedication ceremony on Friday 13 July 2012, including His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, as the Colonel-in-Chief of The Parachute Regiment.
The five-metre-tall bronze memorial depicting Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus, with his spear in hand, together with a paratrooper pulling his Bergan up the mount to the statue, took sculptors Charlie Langton and Mark Jackson two years to complete.
Mark 'Jacko' Jackson, a former Major in The Parachute Regiment, speaking before the dedication ceremony, described the commission as the most significant of his career: "To be able to combine my former career serving with The Parachute Regiment and my current one as a sculptor to create a memorial for the regiment is unbeatable.There has been a team of about 50 people who have had a hands-on role in building this, from those working in the metal works to the structural engineers making sure that Pegasus will stand on his hind legs, and this ceremony is the culmination of that endeavour."
The National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) is free to visit and open every day except Christmas Day. For further information about the NMA, click here.
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