£2m boost for memorial to troops

12 April 2012

Campaigners for a memorial to Britain's "forgotten" armed forces heroes have hailed a victory after £2 million Lottery cash was deemed available.

The Millennium Commission - which is due to close at the end of the month - indicated that it could fund the project to honour 16,000 servicemen and women who have lost their lives since the end of the Second World War.

The project has the backing of the Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Armed Forces Memorial Trust, as well as actor Sir Michael Caine.

The move came after the main Lottery cash distributor, the Big Lottery Fund, turned down an application for the money as it did not meet its criteria.

The memorial will honour those who lost their lives serving in fields such as Palestine, Korea, Malaya, the Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.

Work began on the site of the memorial, designed by architect Liam O'Connor, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire in October but the project was still £4 million short of the total needed.

The Big Lottery Fund's refusal sparked anger from veterans and led to high profile campaigns in the media, including The Sun and the Daily Mail.

But now the Millennium Commission - which handed out Lottery cash for projects connected to the millennium - has stepped in.

The commission indicated that it could make the £2 million remaining in its pot available for the project.

Director Mike O'Connor said the scheme would be a "fitting final project" for the commission, and promised to "look urgently" at the request.

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