The Shot at Dawn Memorial commemorates 309 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were shot for desertion, cowardice, striking a senior officer, disobeying a lawful order, casting away arms, mutiny and sleeping at post during the First World War. Most of them were sentenced after a short trial at which no real opportunity for defence was allowed. Today, it is recognised that some were underage when they volunteered and that many of them were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was not recognised as a medical condition until 1980. In 2006 they were officially pardoned by the British Government.

Deliberately located at the most easterly part of the Arboretum where the sun rises first, Shot at Dawn, first dedicated in 2001, is now showing showing its age, exacerbated by repeated winter flooding from the adjacent River Tame. A suggested £50 donation represents the replacement of one of the 309 water damaged posts and name tag representing each soldier as part of the overall £45,000 campaign target to fully restore the memorial and create a future maintenance fund to ensure that the memorial will be preserved for future generations.

Since the memorial closed on 6 May 2024, we've received over 900 donations towards our appeal, and an army of nearly 200 volunteers from local businesses have worked with our team - a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported this restoration project so far. The memorial will re-open on Friday 21 June - to find out more, please click here.