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Arboretum takes up giant Christmas Card challenge to give thanks to Armed Forces
The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire aims to achieve a Guinness World Record this Christmas by obtaining the highest number of signatures on a greetings card.
To break the current world record set by the Dubai Police in 2015, the Arboretum needs more than 13,288 signatures on its giant card, which has been designed free of charge by Tolputt Keeton, in Tamworth.
The card, which is 2.1m high and 4.5m wide when opened out, features a giant poppy set against a background of more than 800 photographs taken at the Arboretum. The card has space for 20,923 signatures.
A total of 555 signatures were collected on Saturday, October 1, when the card was unveiled at Ride to the Wall - an annual event which sees thousands of motorcyclists visit the Arboretum to pay their respects to the fallen.
The card will be travelling around the Midlands and London over the next couple of months, where it will be signed by children and adults from a variety of organisations including schools, shops and businesses.
These will include the Argos Distribution Centre in Barton; Staffordshire County Council; Denstone College in Uttoxeter; Malbank School in Cheshire; Rolls Royce in Derby and Sainsbury’s in Swadlincote.
Virgin Trains is also right behind the record attempt, the card due to visit their HQ in Birmingham before being whisked down to London at 125mph in style where it will be presented to a senior military figure and will go on display at the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall.
Each person who adds their signature will be asked to include a short message on the card, which will also be available for signing by visitors to the Arboretum on October 21 and 22, and November 11 and 13.
Sarah Montgomery, Managing Director of the Arboretum, said: “We thought the giant Christmas card would be a wonderful way in which to pay tribute to the Armed Forces at this special time of year.
“It will be quite a task to break the existing world record for the number of signatures on a greetings card, let alone attempt to go even further by filling all the 20,993 spaces on our card.
“However, we got off to a great start at Ride to the Wall and we are confident that thousands of people of all ages and from all walks of life will support us in meeting this tough challenge.”
Image left to right; Mark Ellis Commercial Manager at The National Memorial Arboretum and Chris Robinson Creative Director at Tolputt keeton