Bomber Command members forced to pay for memorial

[pudoc]

A memorial was recently set up in London to recognise the heroic acts of the members of Bomber Command - finally. Now it's been built the war heros are being forced to pay for the maintenance of the whole thing.

They never had any sort of memorial, so 4 members campaigned for one to be set up. Nobody ever told them that those 4 individuals have to pay for the maintenance costs. The up keep will cost £500,000, that's £150,000 each. These elderly heroes only have 1 year to come up with the money.

They can't get out of it, their only hope is that somebody sponsors them.

Disgusting or what?

[Yankee Whisky]

They were good enough to expose themselves as "gunfodder' for
the defense of the free world and now the post war babies in government
think nothing of dishonoring the sacrifices made by bomber crews and
ground personnell. This is the most dishonarable behaviour and should
be immediately canned :mad:

[DL-EDI]

Wasn't the RAF Benevolent Fund going to take care of the maintenance?

[waco]

Speechless.........what kind of a country is this.

[MATELO]

Wasn't the RAF Benevolent Fund going to take care of the maintenance?

Yes, and wasn't it around a £1.5m for the costs.

[WanganuiLad]

Good grief, the grateful public purse should cover the lot !

[cyflyer]

I visited said memorial a few days ago at London's Green Park. And may I say what an absolutely wonderful and fitting memorial it is. One of the most impressive I have seen in London. I am posting photos below for everyone to enjoy. Worth paying a homage to if you find yourself in London, its a five minute walk from Green Park tube station. As to the subject under discussion, where has it been said that the four 'campaigners' have to pay the maintenance costs ? I have to see the official mention to believe it because so far its only a rumour mentioned here. It is absurd if true. Also, from what I saw, what maintenance is needed ? None apparent in the short term and certainly not in the lifetime of the said campaigners.

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/DSC_5753.jpg



http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/DSC_5799.jpg (http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/DSC_5799.jpg)


http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/DSC_5790.jpg (http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/DSC_5790.jpg)

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/eurocypria/DSC_5809.jpg

[Jet Jockey A4]

Nice pictures... Thank you.

Now how is this going to cost that amount of money to upkeep every year?

And in no way should the four involved in this project have to bare the cost of the unkeep.

[500N]

"Now how is this going to cost that amount of money to upkeep every year?"

That was my thought as well.


The grass is probably already cut because of where it is located
so a bit of rubbish picking up, bin emptying and cleaning, maybe
even a light bulb or two ?

Anything else to add that would take it to 500k ?

[At ease]

Anything else to add that would take it to 500k ?

Helping to pay for the Olympic Games?.....

Social Security benefits for those who arrived yesterday?.....

?........

[Archimedes]

Can I just clarify whether this is a new development, or a repeat/evolution of the story from mid-June which noted that the trustees faced the risk of having to find £500k to meet the costs of the unveiling ceremony if the money was not forthcoming from elsewhere? It's mentioned on the Bomber Command Memoral thread.

It sounds as though it's the previous story reappearing with details changed - otherwise the trustees would be facing costs of £1 million if the upkeep were to be ½ million to be 1added to the ½ million outstanding for the unveiling ceremony costs.

So has more insult been heaped upon the trustees? Or is this a mangling of the original story? And since there's been little, if anything about this in the media since mid-June, has the original issue not yet arisen or gone away (donations have bridged the gap)?

[DL-EDI]

Sorry, but I think something has been lost in communication here.

And since there's been little, if anything about this in the media since mid-June

Agreed. I think I'll hold back on condemning the country/government on this basis until there's some confirmation of the rumour.

[MFC_Fly]

Sounds like a load of bollox story made up by the Daily Mail to me :ugh:

[Tankertrashnav]

Isn't Ashcroft still a tax exile despite his promises to become UK domiciled? I would happily see a penalty imposed on him to fulfil any such obligations.


You may well be right about his tax status, but Ashcroft is an asset to the country. One example I can quote is his donation of £5m to the Imperial War Museum to set up the Extraordinary Heroes Gallery which displays Ashcroft's collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses, by far the biggest in the world.

Start penalising him and he could well take his ball and go and play somewhere else, which would deprive the IWM of a fantastic asset.

[Pontius Navigator]

I think the RAF BF has undertaken responsibility for the memorial but that is really just another charity largely (well it was) by charitable extraction from peoples', officers especially, salaries.

I once 'stopped' my payment as I was switching how I paid and was immediately summonsed to OC PMS for a lecture on the benefits of contributing etc etc and would I reconsider my decision.

He went a bit red when he discovered I had simply switched to a Deed of Covenant for tax purposes :)

[Chugalug2]

OP:
Nobody ever told them that those 4 individuals have to pay for the maintenance costs. The up keep will cost £500,000, that's £150,000 each. These elderly heroes only have 1 year to come up with the money.
OK, I'll bite. Could we have a link please, because my understanding is as others who have posted, which is that the continuing responsibility for upkeep and maintenance lies with RAFBF:
Air Marshal Sir Robert Wright, RAF Benevolent Fund Controller says:

“We are honoured to take on the guardianship of this Memorial. This means a great deal to the RAF serving personnel and veterans we support every day. Our work and our programme of education and engagement will ensure that the Memorial’s significance continues to be understood by future generations, as part of the debt we owe to members of the Royal Air Force, past and present.”

What is outrageous (in my view) is that a certain amount of the VAT and the cost of security for the unveiling ceremony has been stated by HMG to be the responsibility of the Memorial Campaign. Perhaps this is what you have in mind. If so I believe that a petition calling for both to be met by HMG has been created. Can anyone else confirm and perhaps lead us to it?

Edited to answer my own query. Press outrage pedal to the floor and sign now!:
Remove VAT On The Bomber Command Memorial - e-petitions (http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/17967)

[Pontius Navigator]

signed with 3 of us. way to go yet.

[Bob Wyer]

6693 and counting

[At ease]

I attempted to sign the petition, as a very large number of Australians served with B.C.

When I clicked on the "No" radio button option for UK residency status, this:

You must be a British citizen or normally live in the UK to create or sign e-petitions.

was the message received. :(

[Courtney Mil]

I guess the British Government is under enough pressure on numerous issues from folks living in the UK and are happy to limit the numbers as much as possible?

Try again and click 'yes' this time!

Oh, no, that would be dishonest, so don't do that.

Mask up, take cover!

[OvertHawk]

out of interest.... Has anyone actually read the Government response to the petition where they explain how they've already given around £1m to the project including a sizeable VAT refund...?

As for not being able to sign a petition to the UK Gov when you don't live here... Get real... Of course you don't! :ugh: Just like i don't get to choose how the Australian Government spends your money!

Alternatively - just stop reading this and go back to the Daily Mail...

OH

[Chugalug2]

Well of course we have OvertHawk, that's the whole point! As the petitioner points out previous memorials, be they for deceased Princesses, or Women in general or Animals in general that have died in war, have all been exempted VAT in toto. This memorial, to 55573 Bomber Command Aircrew who lost out on the 50% chance of surviving has the dubious distinction of being the exception to that rule so that those who give are able to sub not only the memorial but also HMG, with the proviso that you mention.
BTW why is the Daily Mail always touted as the sneering reason for casting doubt on a story? Think I'll start doing likewise with the Times. It has the added the advantage of being owned by that man...

[cyflyer]

Saddened to hear that vandals (scumbags) have vandalised with graffiti this wonderful memorial. I hope they are caught.

Vandals daub word Islam on Bomber Command Memorial and Animals In War | Metro News (http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/27/vandals-daub-word-islam-on-two-london-war-memorials-3810042/)

[Chugalug2]

Discussed in this thread:-
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/515740-bomber-command-memorial-defaced-fallout-woolwich-execution.html