Shot at Dawn Restoration Project

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, was showing its age, exacerbated by repeated winter flooding from the adjacent River Tame.

With thanks to hundreds of donors who supported a public fundraising appeal, launched in spring 2024, vital funds were raised toward the restoration project. Over six weeks, an army of nearly 200 passionate corporate volunteers worked alongside our grounds team on the restoration, which included installing new drainage underneath the memorial and landscaping that will improve access around it.

Each of the individual posts and their plaques were also replaced. The new posts are made from durable, recycled material which will no longer need to be replaced after four to seven years. In addition, a maintenance fund has been set up that will be used to preserve the memorial for future generations.