Unsung heroes

The Medical Service Memorial at Hartshead service area on the westbound side of the M62.

A MEMORIAL has been opened to honour the people who have provided lifesaving medical care to wounded soldiers in war zones around the world.

The Army Medical Services (AMS) memorial forest and monument is located at Hartshead Moor services on the westbound M62. It was opened on Sunday and is dedicated to members to the four corps that make up the AMS: Royal Army Medical Corps, Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps, Royal Army Veterinary Corps and the Royal Army Dental Corps.

Captain Eddy Hardaker of 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital, which led the memorial project, said: “It is a remarkable and unique woodland that has a monument in the centre for personnel to visit and take time to reflect.”

The woodland has been has been designed, commissioned and funded by the Oldham-based charity Life for a Life which has more than 40 memorial forests across the UK.

Anyone can plant a tree to commemorate the life of a loved one or to celebrate a special occasion.

Life for a Life makes donations to hospices, hospitals and health organisations.

The land at Hartshead Moor has been donated by the Welcome Break motorway services chain. There is already a memorial there to the 12 soldiers and their family members who died when a bomb exploded on an Army leave coach on the M62 on February 4, 1974.
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