With its location so close to major ports, the New Forest not surprisingly saw a large military presence and a great deal of change during World War I. There is very little evidence left of that time in the forest’s history as nature has reclaimed much of it, but a few little pockets remain. One of these is a stone fireplace, standing alone in the forest surrounded by trees, ferns and horses, which now acts as a memorial to the Portuguese who helped with the Allied war effort.