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Post by pjw4118 on Dec 31, 2010 12:50:35 GMT 12
Thats good news Oggie especially on the medal front, but I was told the the last of the funds needed for the memorial was proving difficult.Any word on that ?
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Post by chinapilot on Dec 31, 2010 15:56:05 GMT 12
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Post by oggie2620 on Jan 1, 2011 8:25:09 GMT 12
Yep they are clawing it back anyway they can...  |
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Post by oggie2620 on Mar 16, 2011 0:32:18 GMT 12
Letter from Chairman of Bomber Command Assn
Dear Member
In my message in the Assn's Autumn Newsletter, I promised to keep you informed on progress with The Memorial. Save for the occasional and often incorrect article in the media, you will have begun to wonder "What the hell is going on?". The short answer is - a lot of very detailed and often difficult work by a small and dedicated team which is determined to see the Memorial built before the start of the Queens Jubilee Celebrations (and the 2012 olympics). You will have to take my word for it, but the discussions have been both complex and time consuming.
I am delighted to say that at our meeting on 24 Feb, the BCMB was able to agree to proceed to contract for the construction of the Memorial. This is a momentous step forward and one which has been made possible through the drive of our President, the support of the Heritage Foundation; the sustained work of "our duo" at the RAF Museum, the professionalism of the architect and sculptor and importantly, the sheer energy of the fundraising team and our many supporters.
The architect and appointed contractor have done an excellent job to refine the design and costs, and we are now able to re-engage in discussions with Westminster City Council and the Royal Parks on the final detail. These necessary pre-contract discussions will probably take a further month, and once complete we will be able to announce the precise date for the Unveiling and Dedication Ceremony which we intend to be in May 2012.
Many of you have asked when the Memorial will be unveiled, and I know that some of you living overseas will want to book flights, in order to be here on the day. Let me say this, during the next 12 months it will take to build the Memorial, we will have ample time to nail down the detailed plans and provide you with everything you need to know in order to join with friends, family and former colleagues for what will be a very special occasion. Before then our President will attend a short and discreet "Turf Cutting" Ceremony, probably in May 2011. This will define the start of building works and I will report on this in our Spring Newsletter.
I am delighted to add that in Feb, the CAS of was able to view the third of the seven "larger than life figures" of the Second World War airmen which form the centrepiece of the Memorial. Each figure is more than 3m tall, and sculpted in clay by our sculptor Phillip Jackson, will be cast in bronze. Phillip's previous works include the Memorials to HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on the Mall, and Sir Bobby Moore at Wembley Stadium. Phillip's brief was that the sculpture should be neither jingoistic nor triumphalist but reflective; and hence it depicts the crew just back from their mission (ouch).
The architect Liam O'Connor, known for the design and construction of the Commonwealth Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill, London has created a design which will gradually unfold from the current park railings, to engraved screens (including the RAF and Bomber Command Crests), and carved Portland stone walls enclosing the bronze sculpture. It will feature a glass roof including sections of melted down alumininium from a Halifax bomber (LW682 from No. 426 Sqn), shot down over Belgium on the night of 12 May 44, in which eight crew were killed.
The Memorial Board believes that once complete the Bomber Command Memorial will provide a fitting and lasting memory for generations to come. It will ensure that we never forget the debt we owe to the commitment, service and sacrifice of those airmen of Bomber Command who lost their lives in pursuit of peace and freedom in Europe.
Finally, none of this would have been possible without your magnificent support and the generous response from key benefactors and donors from across the UK and around the world. I promise to keep you updated as we make progress, and progress we will, but in the meantime thank you for your patience and loyal support.
Malcolm White
Chairman
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 16, 2011 0:56:03 GMT 12
Flare Path actor: Bomber crews command the respect of us all Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent 9 Mar 2011 Actor James Purefoy has backed plans to honour RAF Bomber Command aircrew as he prepares to open in a play highlighting their heroics. Purefoy, 46, said the crews deserved recognition for their role in defeating Hitler despite the controversy over the blanket bombing of German cities such as Dresden. A £3.5 million monument to Bomber Command crews, scheduled to be unveiled in Green Park next year, has provoked opposition from those who regard the thousands of civilian deaths as a war crime. Purefoy said: "I don't want to come across all Right-wing. But 50,000 of these airmen died. Without them we might have had jackboots in Whitehall." With Sienna Miller and Sheridan Smith, he met former Flight Lieutenant Desmond Pelly, from Sussex, and Islington-born gunner Harry Irons, who now lives in Romford, as part of their preparations for the 1942 Terence Rattigan play Flare Path which is set against the backdrop of a bombing mission over Germany. "There was this rear gunner who was a tailor in the East End who is suddenly sitting in a glass bubble at the back of a plane shooting down Messerschmitts," said Purefoy, star of Rome and Solomon Kane. "The carpet bombing of these cities is difficult [to defend] but fighting something as disgusting as fascism was going to be a brutal task. I don't really know the answer but these men were just kids." Many pilots hated the play when it was first performed because it revealed how scared they all were, Purefoy added. Rattigan was a wartime tail gunner with RAF Coastal Command. In the play, Purefoy's character, Peter, is a film star who wants to rekindle his affair with Patricia, played by Sienna Miller. She is still in love with him but has married a pilot. Flare Path is at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until June 4. www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23930233-flare-path-actor-bomber-crews-command-the-respect-of-us-all.do
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Post by oggie2620 on Mar 26, 2011 11:41:24 GMT 12
Will have to try and get a copy of the script when it finishes at the Haymarket. Dont think I will get chance to get down to London to see it. I love live theatre. Will put the link onto Facebook. Thanks Dave.
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