"We will remember them. Today. Tomorrow. Forever."
The poignant message inscribed into the Armed Forces Memorial was particularly fitting as England players and staff paid their respects on Armistice Day.
England Manager Roy Hodgson and Under-21s Head Coach Gareth Southgate led a delegation for the short trip from St. George's Park to the National Memorial Arboretum on Tuesday.
England players visit the Arboretum
Having earlier observed a two-minute silence to remember those who have fallen for their country, the group laid wreaths in honour of service men and women who have made the "ultimate sacrifice".
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart was one of four England players on the visit following the Armistice Day commemorations at St. George's Park earlier in the morning.
"We got together at ten-to-eleven - the seniors, the Under-21s, the U20s, the U19s and the Blind team - and joined up with some people from [RAF] Shawbury, which is quite close to where I'm from, so was a nice personal touch for me," said Hart.
"We took part in the two-minute silence on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month."
Walcott looks at the names on the walls
Hart added: "We have our roles in football as proud England footballers, but it's totally different to what they did for their country. The made the ultimate sacrifice."
Southgate continued: "It's really important that we pass the messages on to the younger players to understand why we are where we are as a country.
"So many of the guys who are serving are massive football fans, so there is always that link and it's important that we pay our respects to them.
"The players realise that generations before them have taken enormous responsibility and enormous risks to allow us to live as we do."
The Arboretum is the nation’s centre of remembrance – where people travel from across the globe to honour those who lost their lives in service.
The Armed Forces Memorial commemorates more than 16,000 members of the Armed Forces who have died in conflict or as acts of terrorism since 1945.
Southgate added: "To be able to come here, it's a very special place. What hits you more than anything is the numbers of names since the end of the second world war in particular.
"It's all very moving and poignant."
Wreaths were laid to honour those who made the 'ultimate sacrifice'
Under-21s winger Nathan Redmond added: "The one thing that stood out is the side where it is just plain, it's there for names to be added, which is the sad thing."
And for Redmond, the visit to the Arboretum was all the more significant, having lost a close relation to a recent conflict.
"One family member, Brett, died in the war back in 2005, 2006. So it's a sad day for my family, especially my grandparents and my auntie and uncles.
"Everyone has someone, or have people they can relate to. It's a nice place where people can come and pay their respects."
At the Arboretum, work is continuing on a memorial being built to honour the Christmas Truce of 1914. FA President HRH The Duke of Cambridge, along with Theo Walcott, recently judged a schools design competition and chose Spencer Turner, 10, from Newcastle as the winner.
The Christmas Truce memorial is part of a wider Football Remembers project involving The FA, the Premier League, the Football League and the British Council. The aim is to engage football fans and players at every level about what took place on Christmas Day one hundred years ago on the battlefields in Belgium.
