A unique national memorial dedicated to Armed Forces veterans who have died by suicide is set to begin its journey from Leyburn to its permanent home at the National Memorial Arboretum.
The Elysium Memorial, believed to be the first memorial in the UK created specifically to honour veterans lost to suicide following their military service, will leave the stone yard of A.D. Calvert Architectural Stone Supplies Ltd on Wensley Road at 10am on Friday.
The memorial will travel to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, accompanied by a motorcycle escort expected to grow as riders join the procession along the route. Two lead motorcycles will head the convoy, with additional riders forming a guard of honour behind the memorial.
The project has been commissioned by the Elysium Memorial Foundation, a charity that supports serving and former Armed Forces personnel, their families and dependants, particularly those affected by mental health challenges and bereavement.
Every element of the memorial has been crafted in Leyburn from Witton Fell sandstone sourced from A.D. Calvert Stone’s own quarry in the Yorkshire Dales.
The commission continues the company’s long association with significant memorial projects, including work on the First World War Memorial in Catterick Garrison.
Allison Calvert, operational director of A.D. Calvert Stone, said the company was proud to have been entrusted with such an important project.
“It’s a real honour to be trusted with a project as important as this,” she said.
“With strong connections to the military community here in North Yorkshire, including Catterick Garrison, we’re really proud to have played a part in something we know will mean so much – not only to those close to home, but to communities across the country.”
Once installed, the memorial will provide a permanent place of reflection and remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum, the UK’s year-round centre for remembrance, ensuring veterans lost to suicide are honoured and remembered for generations to come.
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It was a great honor to be part of the escort.