VIVARY Park has been the location for Somerset Armed Forces Day since the event was established in 2019.
But the park itself has a significant connection to the county’s military, forces and annual commemorations.
Read More:
Two British recon vehicles at Somerset Armed Forces Day
Somerset Armed Forces Day: Entertainment, music and food
Towering in the park’s skyline is the nineteenth-century Jellalabad Barracks, which was once home to the Somerset Light Infantry. Named after the Battle of Jellalabad in the First Anglo-Afghan War of 1842, the barracks served as the starting point for many local recruits in the First World War.
Sold for flats in the 1990s, the barracks are no longer an active military installation, but the Wessex Reserve Forces and Cadets’ Association are still based within historic compound.
At the main entrance of the park stands the Grade II Listed Taunton War Memorial. Unveiled in 1922, the striking memorial commemorates the more than 400 residents of the town who were killed or missing in the First World War, together with 162 names from the Second World War. There are also three names from those who lost their lives in The Trouble in Northern Ireland.
Remembrance Commemorations take place at the memorial every November, with wreath placing and a moment of silence.
Other memorials in the park include a stone specifically in memory of the Royal Marines from 40 Commando at Norton Fitzwarren who lost their lives serving in Afghanistan. Fourteen marines from the unit were killed during their six month deployment to the country in 2010.
In the north-west corner of Vivary Park is another memorial which commemorates the Normandy veterans. Unveiled in 1997, the inscription on the metal plaque is “in memory of those who gave their lives for the relief of occupied countries” as part of the Normandy campaign.
Many units from Somerset, including the 4th and 7th Battalions of the Somerset Light Infantry, were involved in the fighting after the initial D-Day landings.
To find out more about Taunton’s military history and its connection with Somerset, visit the Museum of Somerset’s Military Museum.
Share