The Trust has launched an ambitious project to commemorate 'the Many', the thousands of people who did not take to the sky in a fighter aircraft to see off the Luftwaffe but who nonetheless played their part in the decisive victory won by Fighter Command in 1940.
Members of the public are being invited to fund commemorative tiles that will be inscribed with the names of those who served in a variety of roles. The tiles will be laid at the Memorial to mark the contribution these men and women made towards the success of ‘the Few’ and the eventual defeat of the Nazis.
Those who are nominated may have served as Air Raid Wardens, ground crew, coastguards or firemen, for instance, or with the National Pigeon Service, the Royal Observer Corps or the GPO.
“From those who served as ground crew to those whose contributions were less obvious but equally valuable, such as in runway maintenance or repairing telephone lines, we are looking to mark the commitment of the thousands of people who contributed to the success of ‘the Few’ in 1940,” said Trust Chairman Richard Hunting CBE.
“We don’t have a set list of organisations or professions that we feel qualify, but are inviting people to nominate the person they think should be commemorated – probably, but not necessarily, a relative - and produce evidence that they played a part in this historic victory. They can be military or civilian, as long as the person nominating them has evidence that they contributed.”
The person nominated needs to have played an active support role in the Battle of Britain, which ran from 10 July to 31 October, or one month either side of it.
At this stage the Trust is looking for expressions of interest, and will not start the project until it has received 270 nominations. That's because the tiles are set to be laid along the edge of one of the propeller blades that surround the National Memorial to the Few and nothing will be done until one whole blade can be completed.
You can express an interest for just £5 (refundable if the nomination is ineligible or the project does not go ahead). For full details, or to put forward your nomination, click here.
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