508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Memorial, Wollaton Park, Nottingham.
Posted by: 
greysman
N 52° 56.920 W 001° 12.705
30U E 620147 N 5868056
A small obelisk set on a cube of marble on a plinth of four marble steps. The whole in a fenced area.
Waymark Code: WM9G52
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/16/2010
Views: 10
After activation on 20 October 1942, extensive training and maneuvers in Florida, and further training in Northern Ireland, the unit was moved by ship and by train to Wollaton Park in March 1944. The 508th saw action in northern France from D-Day, in Holland later in 1944, and then in the Ardennes. A total of 616 were Killed in Action, 1274 Wounded in Action, and 254 Missing in Action.
Wollaton Park was shared as a base camp with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
The memorial is a small obelisk set on a cube of marble, which bears the various inscription panels, on a plinth of four marble steps. The whole is set about by a paved area surrounded by a fenced area. It is adjacent to the parking area for the service ranges of Wollaton Hall.
On the north panel:
Dedicated to our brave friends both past & present of the
American 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the
82nd Airborne Division, who set up camp in this
Park in preparation for D-Day.
They parachuted into Normandy on June 6th 1944
and returned here during that summer
before parachuting into Holland on 17th September
in the battle to liberate Europe
with pride and everlasting friendship
On the south panel:
508th Parachute Regiment Roll of Honour 1944-1945
The 508th PIR took part in airborne operations across occupied Europe
Operation Neptune on D-Day, Operation Market garden in Holland
and the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes.
Numbers of casualties,
Killed in Action 616
Wounded in Action 1274
Missing in Action 254
To the members of the Regiment who fell and now remain on the battlefields of Europe.
On the west and east panels are
The 'Red Devil' patch,
and
The Airborne Division's shoulder flash.
The memorial was unveiled and blessed in a special ceremony on June 27, 2010.
Wollaton Park is 500 acres of gardens and parkland with Wollaton Hall, a Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion as its centrepiece, to the west of Nottingham.
As opening times vary from day to day and from season to season see the web site for the current times.
Date of Dedication: 06/27/2010
Property Permission: Public
Access instructions: Access whenever the Park is open.
Access times: From: 9:00 AM To: 4:00 PM
Website for Waymark: [Web Link]
Location of waymark:
Wollaton Park
Lime Tree Avenue
Nottingham, , Nottinghamshire, UK
NG8 2AE
Commemoration: 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
|
Visit Instructions:
Include a photo containing, at minimum, the monument and your GPSr. We'd prefer a photo containing YOU at the monument, but we understand that some people are camera-shy.
Also include a bit about your visit here.