Description

The white cliffs of the south east coast of England , standing defiantly in the face of would-be invaders , are now synonymous with the pivotal conflict in the summer of 1940 , the Battle of Britain , the Royal Air Force's finest hour. Spitfire pilots of No.65 Squadron , heading home to re-arm and refuel , display the exuberance of youth as they swoop low in celebration over a downed Bf 109. Above them , a squadron of Hurricanes climbs out to intercept raiders above the Channel where the swirling paths of duelling aircraft are traced in vapour , high in the summer sky ...THE MEMORIAL . The National Memorial to the Battle of Britain stands appropriately on the high white cliffs of Kent , at Capel-le-Ferne. Unveiled by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1993 , the centrepiece stone memorial by the sculptor Harry Gray takes the form of a seated airman , looking out over the English Channel. It commemorates the airmen Winston Churchill described as 'The Few' , those in the forefront of the defence of Britain in the pivotal summer of 1940. For the first time in almost 900 years British shores were about to be invaded and it fell to the Royal Air Force to keep the enemy at bay in a very close run battle. It is perhaps surprising then that a further 50 years were to pass before any worthy memorial was established to honour those who fought so bravely. That we now have one is thanks to the sadly missed Wing Commander Geoffrey Page , himself one of 'The Few' , who founded the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust and provided the inspiration to make a permanent memorial a reality. The centrepiece of the memorial , a pilot sits surrounded by the crests of all the squadrons that participated in the Battle of Britain. In the early days of the memorial the Beaverbrook family provided funds for a wall on which are Winston Churchill's words , ''Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few''. Nearby there is the black granite Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall on which are listed the names of almost 3,000 Allied airmen who participated in the Battle. Visitors can also view two full-scale replicas of a Hurricane and Spitfire , the fighters that saved the day. Fittingly , the Hurricane is painted in the colours of Geoffrey Page's own aircraft in which he was shot down and badly burned , a reminder that for many who survived that summer the scars of war remained. The site at Capel-le-Ferne attracts visitors from all over the world. It is a source of comfort to the relatives of those who fell in the Battle or who have passed away since and the 'Hunting Lodge' visitor centre is of essential educational value to the younger generations. Despite this , it receives no funding from Government nor other official sources. The costs of maintenance of the structures , facilities and grounds amounts to at least £70,000 per year and , in addition , the Memorial Trust is seeking to raise £500,000 in order to expand the 'Hunting Lodge' which will further increase the educational benefits to the visitor ... The clasp for The Few...Of the 3000 aircrew of Fighter Command who earned the right to wear the 1939-45 Star , with Battle of Britain clasp , 544 died during the Battle. The Hurricane and Spitfire were the aircraft which bore the brunt of the fighting , but, others , some of them multi-crewed , took part , so not all of ' The Few ' were pilots. As well as those from the UK , aircrew in the Battle came from a wide range of countries including , Australia , New Zealand , Canada , South Africa , Poland , Czechoslovakia , France , Belgium , Ireland and the United States...Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain : The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust OFFICIAL LIMITED EDITION PRINT... The Battle of Britain Edition is limited to 200 copies worldwide signed by : Group Captain Billy Drake DSO DFC , Wing Commander Paul Farnes DFM , Wing Commander Bob Foster DFC AE ,Wing Commander John Freeborn , Flt Lt Keith Lawrence DFC , Wg Cdr Tom Neil DFC* AFC AE , Sqn Ldr Percy Beake DFC , Plt Off Norman Brown , Sqn Ldr Joe Chamberlain , Flt Lt Len Davies , Wg Cdr Tim Elkington , Air Commodore John Ellacombe CB DFC* , Leading Signalman Herbert Flower , Flt Lt Trevor Gray , Flt Lt Bill Green , Flt Lt Peter Hairs MBE , Sgt Bill Hodds , Flt Lt Bob Hughes DFC AE , Sqn Ldr Tony Iveson DFC AE , Grp Capt Herbert Pinfold , Sqn Ldr Nigel Rose AE , Wg Cdr Jack Rose GMC MBE DFC , Wg Cdr Richard Summers OBE Ostj AFM , Flt Lt Alex Thom DFC , Sqn Ldr Doug Nicholls DFC , this particular print has the additional signatures of : Sqn Ldr Tony Pickering AE , Sqn Ldr Michael Wainwright AE , Flt Lt William Walker AE , Flt Lt Ken Wilkinson AE , Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Wellum DFC , Flt Lt Terry Clark AE and Flt Lt Owen V Burns AE... also comes with the companion print , Bentley Priory...priced @ £425.00...To complement the purchase of your fine art print, we are now able to offer a professional Picture Framing service. 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