Featuring a week of events for the whole family, the National Memorial Arboretum is playing a leading role in Britain’s first ever Armed Forces Day celebrations. Armed Forces Day itself is on Saturday 27 June but today at 10:30am, to kick off the week of events, the Arboretum joined other national flag-raising ceremonies around the country.

Staff at the National Memorial Arboretum fly the Armed Forces Day flag (image courtesy Puffin Digital)

The Arboretum is dedicating different days of the week to the RAF, Navy, and Army, with displays, guest speakers, entertainers and live music. On Armed Forces Day there will be an Act of Remembrance on the Armed Forces Memorial, followed by a parade and the release of doves and balloons.

The centrally-located National Memorial Arboretum, home to the striking Armed Forces Memorial, comprises 150 acres of trees and memorials devoted to the theme of remembrance. It is free to enter and situated near Lichfield and within the National Forest in Staffordshire.

For more information on the celebrations taking place for Armed Forces Day, visit www.thenma.org.uk.

Were you involved in one of the hundreds of flag-raising ceremonies that took place across the UK today? We’ll be publishing a round-up of stories tomorrow; upload your pictures at www.armedforcesday.org.uk/PhotoGallery.aspx