The Battle of Britain Memorial is a monument to aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain. It is sited on the White Cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne, near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, on the coast of Kent.

History

It was initiated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, and opened by the Queen Mother on 9 July 1993. It is formed of a large propeller-shaped base, with the figure of a seated pilot carved by Harry Gray sitting at the centre. The propeller shape has led the monument to be considered a hill figure. Also on the site are replicas of a Hawker Hurricane and

Supermarine Spitfire 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 the

Christopher Foxley-Norris Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris, (16 March 1917 – 28 September 2003) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF). A squadron commander during the Second World War, he later served as Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany ...

Memorial Wall, on which appears the names of the almost 3,000 fighter aircrew who flew in the Battle. In October 2010 The Duchess of Cornwall unveiled a bust of Air Chief Marshal Sir

Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the Luftwaffe's defe ...

by sculptor Will Davies at the site.

The Wing

The new visitor centre, '''The Wing is an eye-catching design in the shape of a Spitfire wing, complete with dihedral angle. Architect
Godden Allen Lawn
along with consulting engineer
Crofton Consulting
were appointed to undertake the building design with contractors Epps Construction undertaking the construction work. The building was opened by

Her Majesty the Queen The precise style of British sovereigns has varied over the years. style is officially proclaimed in two languages:UK ParliamentRoyal Titles Act 1953(1 & 2 Eliz. 2 c. 9) Proclamation of 28 May 1953 made in accordance with the Royal Titles Act 195 ...

on 26 March 2015 and won 'Project of the Year' at the 2016 Kent Design and Development awards. Conceived as an experience rather than a museum the building contains ''The Scramble Experience; a'' central ‘cockpit’ area with an open balcony offering superb views across the Channel to France, from where the Luftwaffe would have appeared in 1940. A high-tech screen is used to superimpose historical film of incoming German aircraft over the real view of the same scene. File:Capel-le-Ferne - Battle of britain memorial 01.JPG File:Capel-le-Ferne - Battle of britain memorial 02.JPG, Memorial Wall File:Capel-le-Ferne - Battle of britain memorial 03.JPG, Spitfire Replica

References

External links

Battle of Britain Memorial - homepageHarry Gray, Sculptor. The Carving Workshop - Cambridge, UK
* On the 70th Anniversary of the Battle, a veteran at the Memorial recalls his memories http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00cbgt6 or if viewing outside the UK: http://vimeo.com/35312839 {{Hill figures Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne Royal Air Force memorials Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne British military memorials and cemeteries Dover, Kent Hill figures in England Geoglyphs Monuments and memorials in Kent Cultural infrastructure completed in 1993 1993 sculptures