Bomber Command Memorial

The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial stands in Green Park in London and honors the crews of Britain's Bomber Command who served during World War II. The creation of this memorial was controversial for a long time, since the strategic bombing of cities and the high number of civilian casualties led to heated ethical and legal debates after the war. It was not until almost seventy years after the war's end that the funds for construction were raised through a public fundraising campaign, supported by musicians such as Robin Gibb, among others. On June 28, 2012, in the year of the Diamond Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II officially unveiled the memorial.

Architecturally, the monument was designed by Liam O'Connor in Portland stone. At its center stands a bronze sculpture about 2.7 meters (9 feet) tall by Philip Jackson, depicting seven airmen who have just returned from a mission and are leaving their aircraft. The geometric structure of the memorial's roof recalls the Vickers Wellington and is made partly of aluminum from a crashed Canadian Handley Page Halifax. This aircraft went down in Belgium in 1944, and three crew members remained at their posts. The melted metal thus also honors the many Canadian pilots who lost their lives in the war.

On the walls of the memorial, visitors can read various inscriptions commemorating the 55,573 airmen from the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and the Allied nations who were killed. There is also a quotation from Winston Churchill on the importance of the bombers to victory, as well as a reference to the civilian victims of all nations. On the back, you will find a quotation from Pericles' Funeral Oration about the courage to defend freedom. The memorial is a place of quiet and remembrance that honors the complex history of air warfare and the personal sacrifice of the soldiers.