World War Two sculpture unveiled at National Memorial Arboretum by the Duke of Gloucester

The Duke of Gloucester visited the National Memorial Arboretum to unveil a new sculpture today. It came as he also officially opened Burton's new community fire station and paid a visit to the town's Queen's Hospital.

Dedicated to children evacuated from their homes during World War Two, who were known as evacuees, the bronze sculpture is called ‘Every Which Way’.

The Duke travelled to the Alrewas arboretum, in Staffordshire on the edge of the National Forest just after midday today, Tuesday, July 25.

Crowds of people attended the event which was led by TV's Antiques Roadshow and This is Your Life presenter, Michael Aspel.

The sculpture is inscribed with the words: “To remember the evacuation of millions of British children separated from their families during WWII (1939 – 1945)”

Children were evacuated from their family homes in cities, particularly London during World War Two, as the country expected major cities to be bombed by German planes.

At the beginning of the war the government tried to empty all cities of children by evacuating them intro the countryside.

This was considered a safer place to live than in the cities during the war.

Roughly 800,000 children left their homes after the plan was put into action in September 1939.

Children would live with host families who looked after them.

Memorials like the one erected at the National Memorial Arboretum stand as a reminder to those children who lived through the upsetting and often terrifying process of being taken from their home and sent into the countryside.