Comrades in Arms

Winners of the National Memorial Arboretum’s photographic competition were announced at a special prize giving ceremony on November 6th - hosted by the NMA Friends, who organise the annual event in support of the Arboretum.  

This year’s competition attracted an impressive 135 entrants, of whom more than half were in the young person’s category - aged 17and under.  An exhibition of prize winning and other highly commended photographs is on display at the Arboretum – which is part of The Royal British Legion family of charities - until Sunday 27 November 2011.

The competition was launched back in April, with visitors to the Arboretum encouraged to capture images relating to the themes of ‘Lest We Forget’ and ‘The Natural World of the National Memorial Arboretum’.  Located in 150 acres of wooded parkland, which is rich in flora and fauna and has over 200 memorials, the Arboretum presents plentiful photographic possibilities.

The winners of the 2011 competition were named as follows:

Lest We Forget – Adult
1^st        Howard Bagshaw – ‘Comrades in Arms’ (pictured)
2^nd       Tony Cowdrill – ‘The Last Post’
3^rd        Lesley Hextall – ‘Bleak Contemplation’

Lest We Forget – Under 18

1^st        Sophie Donnelly – ‘We will remember them’

2^nd       John Hardy – ‘Kneel’
3^rd        Louis Crossley – ‘A place at rest’

Natural World – Adult

1^st        Darren Fitzjohn – ‘Blossom over lost comrades’
2^nd       Jayne Gilbert – ‘Stark Reality’
3^rd        David Millington       - ‘Butterfly Feeding’

Natural World – Under 18

1^st        Connor Charles – ‘Flora and Fauna’
2^nd       Emma Cleall – ‘Searching for a Star’
3^rd        David Law – ‘Flora and Fauna’

The organisers also created a special prize for children under the age of ten years, which was awarded to Lewis Ball, aged 5, for his photograph ‘My brother photographs the heroes’.  The best audio visual presentation went to David Morland for his short film ‘Inquisitive mind of a child’.

Competition organiser and NMA Friends committee member, David Faul, said: “This year’s competition has been especially well supported and we received some really outstanding photographic entries.  We were particularly impressed with the quantity and quality of entries in the young person’s categories, which included participation from two local schools.”

While young people were able to enter the competition for free, adults paid a small entry fee, the proceeds of which went directly to the Arboretum, which is a registered charity.  Details of prizes can be seen on the events section of the Arboretum’s web site: www.thenma.org.uk.