The Battle of Britain Memorial is a monument to aircrew who flew in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () 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 defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. It is sited on the White Cliffs at

Capel-le-Ferne __NOTOC__ Capel-le-Ferne is a village on the White Cliffs of Dover, near Folkestone in Kent, England. Its name derives from a medieval French term meaning "chapel in the ferns". In 2011 the village had a population of 1,884. It is perched on ...

, near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal 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, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

, on the coast of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

History

It was initiated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, and opened by the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

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. Also on the site are replicas of a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

and

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

and the Christopher Foxley-Norris 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 RAF, No. 11 Group was pivotal to t ...

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. Architects Godden Allen Lawn, along with consulting engineers Crofton Consulting were appointed to undertake the building design with contractors Epps Construction undertaking the construction work. The building was opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

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'' and a central ‘cockpit’ area with an open balcony offering 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 Buildings and structures completed in 1993 1993 sculptures