THE MEMORIAL

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, and the National Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne will take centre stage as the nation remembers the bravery of The Few.

The Patron of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, will be the guest of honour at the annual tribute that will this year take place on Sunday, 11 July.

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The summer of 1940 saw almost 3,000 airmen take to the skies of southern England to defend Britain from invasion.

In what was arguably the country's most important battle of the 20th century, Allied aircrew from many different countries took on the might of the Luftwaffe.

Their bravery is remembered at the National Memorial to the Allied aircrew of the Battle of Britain at Capel-le-Ferne, atop the white cliffs near Folkestone in Kent.

The memorial, paid for by public subscription and cared for by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, provides a space for calm reflection on the cliffs below the very skies that once echoed to the sound of aero engines and gunfire.

The memorial takes the form of a large, three-bladed propeller carved into the ground, topped by the statue of a lone airman sitting on the propeller boss looking out to sea.

The squadron badges of the RAF units that took part in the battle are carved on the propeller boss, while the names of the almost 3000 aircrew involved are listed on the black granite Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall nearby.

The memorial was unveiled by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 9 July 1993 and is now supported by the Hunting Lodge visitors' centre, opened two years later.

The visitor centre offers refreshments and souvenirs and is next to full-scale Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire replicas.