Countess of Wessex's tears for Bevin Boys They were often mistaken for conscientious objectors, and it was only in 2008 that they received an official badge from the government as their equivalent of a campaign medal. The Countess unveiled the monument, made of four granite slabs, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Mr Parkes said of the Countess: "Her being here was just wonderful recognition for all of us and I told her that." During the Second World War thousands of conscripts and volunteers who had believed they would fight the Nazis were instead drafted to work in more than 1,800 coal pits nationwide, selected by an independent lottery. At the time, none knew why they had been selected for the pits rather than the front line, said Mr Parkes. "If you were left-handed you couldn't fire a .303 rifle, so they'd say 'send him down the pits'," he said. The same if you were flat-footed and so it went on - we thought we were almost third-class citizens. Joan Taylor MBE, chair of the Memorial Committee, said: "We are delighted that at last the efforts of Bevin Boys have been formally acknowledged. Without their efforts Britain would not have won World War II, as coal was vital for keeping the country's machinery working for the war effort. Bevin Boys were conscripted just as those individuals who joined the armed forces, but they have never received the same recognition. This memorial puts that right and being joined today by the Countess of Wessex gives further special acknowledgement.