Battle of Britain London Memorial
Details:
Between the Thames River and the roadway situated in the center of the pedestrian path.
The Battle of Britain Monument is a sculpture on the Victoria Embankment, which commemorates the British military personnel who took part in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War.
It was unveiled in 2005, the 65th anniversary of the Battle.
The monument was conceived by Bill Bond, founder of the Battle of Britain Historical Society.
The monument is a paneled granite structure 25 m long which was originally designed as a smoke outlet for underground trains. The centerpiece is an approximately life sized sculpture of airmen scrambling for their aircraft during the battle. The outside of the monument is lined with bronze plaques listing 2,936 airmen and ground crew from 14 countries who took part in the battle on the Allied side to included the United States.
The sculptor of the monument is Paul Day.
The definitive list of those that fought in the Battle has been produced in conjunction with the Battle of Britain Fighter Association.
What qualified a pilot to be included in the list?
The War Ministry issued a clasp to those airmen who took part in the Battle of Britain. In order to qualify they had to meet several criteria: They had to have served in one of the 71 squadrons of Fighter Command that were engaged in the Battle; This had to be between the dates of 10 July 1940 and 31 October 1940; They had to have flown in at least one operational sortie (being scrambled to attempt to intercept the enemy).
At least nine Airmen from United States are listed on the name plaques for those who took part in the Battle of Britain:
F/O deP D BROWN
F/Lt. C R DAVIS
P/O A G DONAHUE
P/O W M L FISKE
P/O J K HAVILAND
P/O V C KEOUGH
P/O P H LECKRONE
P/O A MAMEDOFF
P/O E Q TOBIN
Monument Text:
The inscriptions on the monument are written in English. The main inscriptions read:
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
NEVER IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN CONFLICT WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW
WINSTON CHURCHILL
On the plaque listing Pilots from the USA:
F/O deP D BROWN
F/Lt. C R DAVIS
P/O A G DONAHUE
P/O W M L FISKE
P/O J K HAVILAND
P/O V C KEOUGH
P/O P H LECKRONE
P/O A MAMEDOFF
P/O E Q TOBIN
Commemorates:
People:
William Meade Lindsley “Billy” Fiske
Vernon Charles “Shorty” Keough
Philip Howard" Uncle Sam` or 'Zeke' Leckrone
Units:
133rd Eagle Squadron
601 Squadron, RAF
71st Eagle Squadron
Eagle Squadron
Eagle Squadron (RAF)
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Wars:
WWII
Battles:
Battle of Britain
Other images :
