Remembering The Few - Reminding the Many

BREAKING NEWS !

Phase One of the Northern Battle of Britain Memorial agreed …

We are delighted to announce that we now have a location at the South Yorkshire Air Museum to site Phase One of our Memorial.   This will comprise of four panels :-

 

Panel One         The Battle Roll of Honour listing all those who fought and died in combat.

Panel Two         Text illustrating the the significance of the order of Battle.

An illustration showing the location of Royal Air Force Sectors in 1940 with 12 and 13 Groups in the the North of England and and the location of the Northern Battle of Britain Memorial at the former RAF Doncaster.

 

Panel Three      Will feature the coat of arms of the Squadrons in RAF Fighter Command and a brief outline of those squadrons that served in RAF 12 and 13 Groups.

 

 

Panel Four        This panel will include a brief outline of the Battle and its historical significance and effect on the outcome of World War Two.

 

The Memorial will be sited on a plinth to the right of the existing Falklands Memorial outside the main hangar at the South Yorkshire Aviation Museum.

A flag pole with an RAF ensign will be erected to the right of the Memorial.

 

Phase Two

We remain hopeful that before long we will be able to raise the funds to build a reproduction of a WW2 blast pen and source a replica Spitfire to mount inside it.

When this takes place the Phase One panels will be moved to the back of the pen.

 

Funding

 

In recent years we have been constantly aware that raising funds for Memorials is both difficult and contentious in the current financial climate. The Covid pandemic, the global finance crisis and the war in Ukraine means that more than ever any spare funds that are available should be used responsibly. With this in mind that we have taken this phased approach to the Northern Memorial. One day if the situation changes we are confident that we will find a sponsor or sponsors to make our plans a reality. We will then have a replica Spitfire as the focal point of a significant place of remembrance and celebration of our shared heritage. Each of the Phase One resources has been designed so that they can be moved easily to join the Spitfire as and when the later phases are completed.

 

Exciting times ahead !

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Air Vice Marshal A.T. Johnson RAF Ret'd  becomes Patron of the Appeal. 

Air Vice Marshal A.T. Johnson RAF Ret'd follows in the footsteps of the late Bill Bond MBE  who created the Battle of Britain Historical Society and was one of the major figures in the building of the National Monument in London.  A.V.M. Johnson, a Yorkshireman himself,  has echoed Bill Bond's assertion that :- 
 
“ ...there is an important need to give the people of the North and in particular schoolchildren the opportunity to learn about the Battle and to pay their respects to the brave youngsters known as ‘The Few’ without having to travel great distances to do so”.   
 

Although he was only a schoolboy in 1940 he has a great knowledge and understanding of the history of the Royal Air Force and will be an incredibly valuable member of the Appeal Team.

 

A.V.M. Johnson qualified as a Medical Doctor in 1957 and joined the RAF shortly afterwards. His career saw him serve in the UK, Cyprus, Germany, the Far East and the United States. He served as Honorary Surgeon General to HM Queen and ended his career as Principal Medical Officer, Royal Air Force Strike Command. He is an Aviation Medicine Specialist, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. He is also a musician, an accomplished sportsman, a pilot and a highly experienced free fall parachutist. We are delighted to have him on board !

Sheridan  Smith becomes a Patron

We want to create a Memorial that will inform and educate northern communities about the contribution the region made to the defence of the country during the Battle of Britain.

You can support the Memorial by sponsoring the appeal on our Spacehive Funding page.

Click on the Spacehive logo to go there now, and find out how you can help this appeal

Thank you for your support.

 

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When complete the Memorial will be linked to a visitor centre where young and old will be able to explore and understand the significance of the Battle where “so much was owed by so many to so few”.

Remembering the Few - Reminding the Many

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