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| Britain | |
| Charles unveils Battle of Britain memorial | |
| 2005-09-19 | |
| LONDON - Britainâs Prince Charles praised the âunremitting braveryâ of the fighter pilots who fought in the 1940 Battle of Britain on Sunday as he unveiled a memorial in London. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, joined Defence Minister John Reid and 70 of the few remaining pilots to unveil the memorial on Londonâs Victoria Embankment. The monument depicts scenes from the Battle in the air and the support in London and carries Winston Churchillâs phrase âNever in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so fewâ. The heir-to-the-throne said he hoped the monument would inspire future generations. âWe shall never forget that if the few had failed in their mighty struggle, the consequences for this nation would have been quite unthinkable,â the Prince said. âThe unremitting bravery of those pilots is etched deep into the consciousness of this country and will ensure their special place in history.â The monument is made up of two bronze friezes, set in a 25 metre-long granite structure. A bronze plaque carries the names and ranks of the airmen who took part in the battle and a small description of the events. Defence secretary Reid said the monument was a âfitting tributeâ to the pilotsâ âselfless commitment and determination against the oddsâ. âI salute all those who took part in this memorable victory and also all those who have worked so hard to raise funds to erect this wonderful tribute in the heart of London,â he said in a statement. Reid was also joined by the Australian Secretary of Defence Robert Hall, Czech Defence Minister Jaroslova Pribylova and ambassadors from other nations that flew alongside the British pilots. Almost 3,000 British, European and Commonwealth airmen took part in the Battle of Britain between July 10, 1940, and October 31st 1940. Despite being greatly out-numbered, they defeated the German Luftwaffe and caused the Germans to postpone and eventually cancel their invasion plans.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 nice shot RC - my thoughts exactly |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-19 20:40 |
| #5 Article: When they honor the airmen who won the Battle of Britain, Englishmen might well take note of a few Americans who fought even when the US would not. More of that old time religion. The reason the British fought was not because they were on some kind of crusade - they fought because they were attacked. The Dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand fought to fulfill their obligation to the British empire, of which they were part. Instead of invading Germany while the Huns were off attacking Poland, the Brits stood by with the French as the Poles were overrun. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-19 19:12 |
| #4 "The Pre-Eagles By David A. Johnson THIS summer will mark fifty years since the Royal Air Force held off the Luftwaffe in what Britain remembers as its "finest hour." When they honor the airmen who won the Battle of Britain, Englishmen might well take note of a few Americans who fought even when the US would not. In the summer of 1940, World War II had been under way for nearly a year. Hitler's Germany was triumphant. With Pearl Harbor more than one year away, the US was still neutral. It was a time, Winston Churchill later observed, when "the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready." The RAF was alone, but some Americans did not remain neutral. The worst days of the Battle of Britain--from July 10 to September 15--saw a handful of US pilots fighting side by side with England's. They had found unusual ways to join RAF's Fighter Command, where all fought and some died. At least twelve US pilots were active, perhaps many more. They destroyed at least fifteen German planes. Some names are known: Fiske of 601 Squadron; Donahue of 64 Squadron; Haviland of 151 Squadron; Leckrone of 616 Squadron; Mamedoff, Keough, and Tobin of 609 Squadron. In other cases, all that remains in war records are nicknames: "Tex" or "Uncle Sam." They were an American vanguard. In RAF service, these Yanks predated even the famous, all-American Eagle Squadrons, the first of which was not formed until September 19. Even though they saw action in the desperate battles of July, August, and early September, they are now mostly forgotten because their presence was never acknowledged. This was no accident; one of the US Neutrality Acts proscribed any US participation in the forces of a belligerent nation. The United States, being neutral, was determined to keep US citizens out of the war. Violators faced stiff criminal penalties of up to $20,000 in fines, ten years in prison, and loss of citizenship. For those joining the RAF, anonymity seemed the best protection." http://www.afa.org/magazine/1990/0190eagles.asp Hmm...undoubtedly part of Roosvelt's illegal war. /sarcasm off. |
| Posted by: Chiger Shineng4673 2005-09-19 09:55 |
| #3 IMO the best memorial to the Few is the Battle of Britain Flight. The snarl of a Rolls Royce Merlin beats the mute testimony of bronze and granite |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2005-09-19 09:31 |
| #2 What? It's not in the shape of a swastika? What kind of memorial is it? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-09-19 07:19 |
| #1 Nice sculpture. Looks stylistically like a Thomas Hart Benton painting about the blitz in bronze. |
| Posted by: imoyaro 2005-09-19 00:06 |