The ''Rolls-Royce Battle of Britain Memorial Window'', is a

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

Hugh Ray Easton Hugh Ray Easton (26 November 1906 – 15 August 1965) was an English stained-glass artist. His workshop was in Cambridge. Biography Hugh Easton was born in London, son of Frank (a doctor) and Alice ( Howland). He studied in France and worked fo ...

, to commemorate the pilots of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

who fought in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

and the contribution of Rolls-Royce engineering to their victory. It was unveiled on 11 January 1949 in Rolls-Royce's Nightingale Road factory in Osmaston, Derby.

Commission

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, between 1939 and 1945, Merlin engines which powered

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

and Lancaster bombers, were built by

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

at their factory in Derby. The window was commissioned by managing director of Rolls-Royce,

Ernest Hives, 1st Baron Hives Ernest Walter Hives, 1st Baron Hives (21 April 1886 – 24 April 1965), was the one-time head of the Rolls-Royce Aero Engine division and chairman of Rolls-Royce Ltd. Hives was born in Reading, Berkshire to John and Mary Hives, living at 31 C ...

, later chairman of the company. It cost £3,145.

Description

The ''Rolls-Royce Battle of Britain Memorial Window'' is a

, to commemorate the pilots of the

who fought in the

. It depicts an image of a

fighter pilot at the centre, below which is an inscription. The young pilot is wearing a full fighter pilot outfit, complete with flying boots and a helmet which he holds in his hand. He is standing and looking over the Derby factory which made the engines required for his "survival and victory". Below the pilot are also the blades of a propeller, behind which are the smokestacks of the factory. Above and behind the pilot is an eagle with outstretched wings, which is framed by the sun. The window is 6.5 metres tall, 4.5 metres wide and since 2015 is lit up with 5,184

LEDs A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

. The inscription reads:

This window commemorates the pilots of the Royal Air Force who in the Battle of Britain turned the work of our hands into the salvation of our country.

Unveiling

The window was unveiled on 11 January 1949 in the

Marble Hall Marble Hall is a town in the south of the Limpopo province of South Africa. It was formerly in Mpumalanga province. Marble Hall is a village 26 km north-west of Groblersdal and 96 km south-south-east of Mokopane on the N11 National R ...

of Rolls-Royce's Nightingale Road factory in Osmaston, Derby, by

Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and he went o ...

, and dedicated by Alfred Rawlinson, the then

Bishop of Derby The Bishop of Derby is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Derby in the Province of Canterbury.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese was formed from part of the Diocese o ...

, from when it remained on display. During the first month of viewing, covering successive Sundays, an estimated 50,000 people lined up to see the window. It was accompanied by a souvenir booklet.

Location

From 1949 until 2007, the window was located in the main foyer of Rolls-Royce's Nightingale Road factory in Derby, on the north wall, on the route up to the first floor. The window was later transferred to the Rolls-Royce Learning and Development Centre in Derby where it remains on display.

Re-dedication

The window was re-dedicated on 31 October 2015, on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Britain, in a service given by John Davies, Dean of Derby.

Commission

Description

Unveiling

Location

Re-dedication

References

Further reading