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Battle of Britain London MonumentSo far, we have raised £2191.00 for this cause
In a city that commemorates so many military victories, there is one crucial battle that has no tribute in London. A battle fought above our heads, when the future of the nation hung in the balance. A battle won thanks to the courage of ordinary people, fighting for their homes in the skies and on the ground. Happily, 2005 sees this gap being filled with the opening of perhaps the most exciting memorial to be established in London: the Battle of Britain Monument.
It is exciting for many reasons. To start with, it is the only Monument to list all 2,935 airmen from 15 countries who flew in the Battle of Britain. This was a labour of love. When the project began, there was no definitive list. Volunteers went through every record available: war records, photographs, newspaper articles, and books. They appealed to the public for information and scoured every record they could find both inside and outside the UK. It was extremely difficult to learn of all the overseas pilots since their names were not necessarily easy to spell for the British clerks. To make life harder, a number of pilots also changed their names after the war when they settled in new countries.
The Monument is also special for its uniquely human emphasis. Military memorials usually concentrate on the fighters, often emphasising a sense of loss and waste. But this Monument is a celebration of ordinary people. It pays tribute not just to the courage of the pilots but to everyone on the ground as well, remembering the unglamorous heroism of factory workers, aircraft mechanics, air wardens and telephone engineers. This is about real people doing both extraordinary things - flying in combat, loading guns, sheltering from bombs - and very ordinary ones- making tea, chatting, comforting a child. The different scenes merge and flow into each other, reminding how everyone worked as a unified team.
The stunning Monument by sculptor Paul Day will be sited on the Victoria Embankment (north side of the river Thames) between the RAF memorial (the one with the big eagle wings) and Westminster bridge / Big Ben. It is opposite the London Eye ("The wheel").
The cost of the Monument is being met entirely by donations from the public (the National Lottery rejected it!). If you'd like to help, please send a cheque payable to "Battle of Britain London Monument" to Battle of Britain London Monument Ltd, 11 Greenland Road, BARNET, Herts EN5 2AL.
Visit their website to learn more. We have produced 8 Covers with this Associate
Click on any image below to find out more about that design.
Buckingham Covers Limited, registered in England No. 03877048 is part of Internet Stamps Group Limited, registered in England No. 03497867. Registered office for both: Warren House, Shearway Rd, Folkestone, Kent CT19 4BF, UK.
Tel. (+44)01303 278 137. Email. betty@buckinghamcovers.com
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