While I was in town on Saturday, I took the chance to pop along to have a look at the construction site for the Battle of Britain London Monument. As you can see, the hoardings prevent a view of the ongoing work. The view from the southern end of Westminster Bridge shows the BoBLM on the left, and the RAF Memorial on the right. If you haven’t already had a look, do visit the BoBLM website (http://www.bbm.org.uk/), where you’ll find lots of information & images.
Apart from the BoBLM & the RAF Memorial (see here for the RAF Memorial website http://www.raf-benfund.org.uk/RAF-Memorial/), there are a few other aviation related monuments and memorials on the Victoria Embankment. These are the Chindit Special Forces Memorial (see here for details of the inscriptions http://www.chindit.net/memlondon.htm) , a statue of Lord Trenchard, the Fleet Air Arm Memorial (see here for more information http://www.navynews.co.uk/articles/2000/0005/0000052603.asp), and a statue of Viscount Portal of Hungerford, Air Marshal Charles F. A. Portal, Chief of Air Staff 1939-’45.
Geoff
By: von Perthes - 28th February 2005 at 21:23
Rob,
The unveiling is planned for September, but I don’t know the date. It may be the 15th, the nearest weekend, or up to Her Majesty’s diary.
The following is from a recent editorial in ‘Scramble’, the BoBHS newsletter.
‘It is still not definite that Her Majesty the Queen will carry out the unveiling as her diary for the year is not finalised till February. The unveiling, which in the early days of fund-raising seemed a distant detail, is now in the early planning stages and it is apparent that the area available for spectators is very restricted, the river preventing a full 360 degree viewing area.
The surviving veterans will of course have highest priority and once the Metropolitan Police advise how many persons can be accommodated the remaining spaces will be allocated, perhaps by a lottery if necessary. The Battle of Britain Fighter Association will play a vital role in assessing veteran numbers.’
I’d dearly love to be there, but as it says above, with space restricted, the veterans, their families, and next-of-kin will have quite rightly have priority.
Geoff.
By: black-panther - 28th February 2005 at 19:40
Great Pictures Geoff, Has a date been fixed yet ? Its going to look great when its all finished and in place.
We Should Never Forget.
Cheers Rob….
By: von Perthes - 28th February 2005 at 12:46
The other monuments/memorials
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February 28, 2005 at 12:38 pm