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The Air Forces Memorial Runnymede England
"It was a war that saw periods of desperate crisis and drama, attrition and numbing routine. Throughout, the Air Forces fulfilled crucial supporting roles to the land campaigns and at sea, and during the long years when Britain stood isolated and vulnerable on the edge of a Europe largely under German occupation, they stood both as the first line of defence and the potent means of striking back." Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Memorial Snow
Click Thumbnails at Right & Left Below for Large Image & Text
Panels
Memorial Panels
  The Remembrance Stone in the Cloister Remebrance Stone
PanelLight
Inscribed panels and light
  One of the Armorials painted on the Memorial ceilings adjacent to the inscribed panels Memorial Ceilings
Vernon Sculpture
Vernon Hill's 3 sculptures on the south wall of the Shrine and overlooking the Remembrance Stone.
  Esmond Burton's Air Forces Eagle above the Memorial entrance Eagle
Great North Window
Image of the Great North Window and text of the "Air Man's Psalm".
  Are you a veteran or relative with a friend or relation whose name is recorded here and you live outside England? PhotoOffer
Queens Speech
Text of Queen Elizabeths II's speech in 1953 on unveiling the Memorial. The image shows a plaque at the Memorial recording the speech.
  A transcript of Paul H Scott's poem engraved on a north facing window in the first floor gallery overlooking Runnymede. Scott's poem
Runnymede
This web page shows the place of the Air Forces Monument among the Memorials to freedom at Runnymede
  This web page shows the Brookwood Military Cemetery with graves of many air men & Edward Maufe's RAF Shelter opened in 1947 Brookwood Military Cemetery

Aeriel view of the Memorial showing the NE facade, chapel & overall layout. Here.
The structure draws the eye up towards the heavens and physically one can ascend above the lookouts past the north window through the gallery to the top of the tower entering the viewing platform through the cupola bearing the astral crown to see where sky and land meet.

View of Windsor ~~ View South
Battle of Britain Locomotive
The Hawker Hurricane & Sir Sydney Camm

Memorial Spring

"The Runnymede Memorial stands on Cooper's Hill, overlooking Runnymede, the Thames-side pastures three miles east of where King John sealed Magna Carta in 1215. The large site was given to the Commission by Sir Eugen and Lady Effie Millington-Drake. (Sir Eugen was British Ambassador to Uruguay at the time of the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939.)
The design of the memorial consists of a square cloister. On the far side from the entrance is a tower, reminiscent of a war-time airfield control tower, available for access and giving fine views. The cloister on this side, which is on the edge of a wooded hill and overlooks the River Thames, has two curved wings, terminating in look-outs, one facing Windsor, the other Heathrow, London's main airport.
The tower has a central arched opening above which are three stone figures sculptured by Vernon Hill, representing Justice, Victory, and Courage. The focal point for ceremonies is the Stone of Remembrance on the lawn enclosed by the cloisters, and for contemplation, a chapel in the tower.
The memorial commemorates 20,000 airmen and airwomen of the Commonwealth Air Forces who, during the 1939-1945 War, died over north-western and central Europe, the British Isles, and the eastern Atlantic, while in any of the Air Forces Commands, and have no known grave. The memorial was designed by Edward Maufe and was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1953."
From: Ward, G.K. and Gibson, E.(1995), Courage Remembered: London,HMSO

Video Montage: Royal Air Forces Association 70th Anniversary Battle of Britain Remembrance at the Air Forces Memorial 2010

Video Montage: Finding Australian Flight Sergeant Davidson's Inscription - Panel 284.

Video Montage: Finding New Zealander Pilot Officer Brannigan's Inscription - In The Lookout.

Open CWGC Leaflet: A History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Open CWGC Leaflet: The Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede

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