National Arboretum -Desert Rats Memorial

We are the Desert Rats Association (Registered No. 1063575 under the Charities Act of 1960) and are raising money to build a new Memorial to the men and women of the Desert Rats from 1940 to the modern day, who have served this country in war and peace.

The new memorial will acknowledge the history of the Desert Rats using the insignia of the Desert Rat. The Jerboa will be; 1.64m high, made of flame-cut laminated 30mm thick Corten steel, and left with a rust red finish. This will be placed on a stone plinth and will have the sides carved with a sand motif with letters incised. We suggest “DESERT RATS” in a sans serif Roman script fading in and out of the pattern, which suggests movement through time, space and sand.

Using the Patina and Rust that will naturally occur, as the rust from the Desert Rat is likely to run and stain the plinth. We propose that this should be made into a feature by carving shallow channels in the plinth, which would create red tracks of rust signifying the blood spilt and given for victory. The memorials will be positioned in an oval area with two crescent shaped mounds. In section, echoing the desert landscape of the sand dunes, steeper on one side than the other, covered in turf.

The memorial from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst will be placed on the higher of the two mounds with the Rat on its plinth in the centre between. There will be a flat area running through the middle of the memorial ground. The Rat will be orientated towards El Alamein, Egypt, pointing towards the origin of the 7th Armoured Division.

The images show an artist’s impression of the memorial and Maquette of the design we have chosen.

No matter how small or large your donation, it will all go toward honouring the memory of the men who have worn and continue to proudly wear the Jerboa badge of the Desert Rats and have served this country for over 80 years, including the 'Cold War' and more recent conflicts of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.

Many thanks,

The Desert Rats Association Committee