25 years of Remembrance

07 November 2026 - 16 May 2027
10am - 4pm
Free

Gallery Two

On Wednesday 11 November the Royal British Legion National Remembrance Gardens will join the nation in marking Armistice Day. The Armed Forces Memorial will be closed to the public on Wednesday 11 November until after the Armistice Day Service.

Parking tickets for visits on Armistice Day are still available and can be booked via the link below.

Book parking tickets

For 25 years, an inspired idea has gently grown from muddy fields into a flourishing vibrant landscape of Remembrance, reflection and shared stories.

In this place, a celebration of lives lived, saplings have become trees, pathways have been laid, memorials have been created, a community has grown, together.

This brand-new exhibition brings together archive material and personal memories, reflecting on our site's journey from a gravel pit to the Gardens we see today.

What you can see

The Polar Bear Memorial when it was new to the site.

Early memorials

Photographs documenting how our site changed from a flat landscape to a home for over 400 memorials can be seen in this exhibition, including early photographs of the Polar Bear Memorial, the first statue to be placed on the site, dedicated on 7 June 1998.

A map from a newspaper showing the site early on

Our site over the years

Take a look at old maps and site plans and see how our 150 acre site has grown over the years.

A sketch of the National Minors Memorial

Plans and sketches

This sketch, featured in this new exhibition, unveils the concept for the National Miners Memorial, a striking 23-meter bronze frieze crafted to represent a seam of coal. The artwork forms a visual timeline, charting the industry's evolution from the dark days of underground labour by men, women and children up to the modern era.