This is what the National
War Memorial could look like

by Martin Jefferies

A memorial listing the names of all 1.7m servicemen and women
who died in the First and Second World Wars could be built in
Dover.

The National War Memorial on the White Cliffs would be the first
permanent reminder of the lives lost during the two conflicts.

Campaigners hope it will open in August 2014, to coincide with
the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War.

David Foley, chairman of the National War Memorial Campaign,
said: “Although countless small memorials exist throughout the
Commonwealth, there is no single permanent and visible
representation recording the losses sustained in the two largest
conflicts of the 20th Century.

“We believe the memory of 1.7m people, as it recedes into the
distance, should not be forgotten.”

Promotional video on
the National War Memorial produced by Lavender Blue Media

The £17m memorial at Western Heights would comprise 12 white
granite walls – one for each year of hostilities.

The names of the 1.7m airmen, Navy personnel and soldiers would
be inscribed in order of the date of their sacrifice.

“It will serve to remind future generations of what it actually
means to go to war,” Mr Foley said.

“If you can take just one step and read 1,000 different names,
perhaps that will teach us what war really is.

“It isn’t
the glorious cinema, it isn’t Hollywood – it’s hard, it’s deathly
and it kills people, and it should only be undertaken in the direst
of circumstances.

“There will be a strong educational value, and I’d like to think
that schoolchildren will go there, look for their ancestors and
perhaps reflect on the sacrifice they made all those years
ago.”

It is thought between 250,000 and 500,000 people would visit the
memorial each year, including many of the Port of Dover’s 13m
annual passengers.

Experts believe the project, which is supported by the likes of
Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover and Deal, and Ian Hislop, the
comedian and broadcaster, would boost the local economy by around
£14m a year.

For more on the project, visit www.nationalwarmemorial.co.uk.