Bomber Command memorial defaced - fallout from Woolwich execution?

[Torque Tonight]

Very sad to see that the Bomber Command memorial and other monuments nearby have been defaced with red paint today. Some media sources have tip-toed around the nature of the graffiti, but the truth is it says Islam in red painted letters. Now whether this is the action of muslim hot-heads or EDL/BNP provocateurs, matters not. Very disappointing to see, and I just hope that this week's events are a wake up call.

BBC News - Woolwich murder: Three men released on bail (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22677733)
Bomber Command memorial vandalised in London | This is Lincolnshire (http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Bomber-Command-memorial-vandalised-London/story-19103606-detail/story.html#axzz2UUk2SC6t)

[Basil]

There has to be some CCTV which will provide a clue.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67830000/jpg/_67830465_de27-1.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/27/article-2331598-1A062EA2000005DC-188_306x479.jpg

[diginagain]

There has to be some CCTV which will provide a clue. Does there?

[dragartist]

Now then I do wonder if I am being foolish or provoking any backlash by flying my Armed Forces Day flag some 36 days early. It was my first response following the Horrific news on Thursday.

[NutLoose]

When arrested they perps should be simply put on a plane, flown out to Afghanistan with no documents and dropped off wearing nothing but their shreddies to start their new life... Regardless of being a Uk Citizen, their passports should be revoked and they should be permanently blacklisted from entering the country.

Do that several times and they'll soon think otherwise about doing things like this.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Dear me, have we really got so paranoid that we can imagine rt wing groups would do this to stir things up?

[OutlawPete]

A disgusting and disrespectful act carried out by someone clearly devoid of brain cells. Lets hope the memorial gets restored with haste.

Interesting that mainstream media seems to be avoiding the story. They were quick to report the attacks on the mosque though.

[VinRouge]

Time to unleash the 1 group Bacon Bomb.

[Torque Tonight]

Agaricus. Not paranoid, just nothing would surprise me these days. There are elements on both sides who would love to kick off a race war. I'd lock 'em all up together.

[NutLoose]

Oddly enough Vin there is one in development and talk of carrying lard on Israeli buses, the bomb is a holder containing pigs blood to deter suicide bombers as it will cover them when they detonate, thus robbing them of their Virgins.

See

Would Pork Bombs Work as a Terrorist Deterrent? | Geekosystem (http://www.geekosystem.com/pork-bomb-terrorism-deterrent/)

Mind you the Ruskies buried their Chetchen terrorists in pigskins to do similar. Though probably overkill for mindless vandals.... :E.

I too can see a race war coming sadly, fuelled by the fringe element on both sides of what are on the whole peace loving people's. sometimes you wish you could just bang their heads together... Mind you I blame the race hating clerics that fuel this.. Sooner they are out of here the better.

[Wander00]

"Execution" is legal application of a judicial death penalty - Woolwich was MURDER.

[Pontius Navigator]

When arrested they perps should be simply put on a plane, flown out to Afghanistan with no documents and dropped off wearing nothing but their shreddies to start their new life.

I presume you mean a non-stop flight?

[newt]

Scum! Thats all I can say!! The rest is :mad:

[NutLoose]

Says it all really

War memorial defaced - ITV News (http://www.itv.com/news/central/story/2013-05-27/war-memorial-defaced/)

[Basil]

Dear me, have we really got so paranoid that we can imagine rt wing groups would do this to stir things up?
It's a possibility. Couldn't see any religious verses in Arabic but they were, doubtless, in a bit of a hurry.

[monkeytennis]

Please don't say it was an execution. It was a brutal and inexcusable murder. :(

[November4]

Anyone in the London area able to keep WO Radcliffe company?

An 89-year-old war veteran has said he will stand at the Bomber Command monument in London's Green Park until spray paint defacing the memorial has been removed.

Douglas Radcliffe MBE, the Secretary of the Bomber Command Association, told ITV News that he was "very disturbed" by the act of vandalism and said he could not understand why anyone would deface the honour.

ITV (http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-05-27/war-veteran-vows-to-stay-at-memorial-until-graffiti-is-removed/)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/320486_685848024778189_1260048066_n.jpg

[smujsmith]

Whilst the jury has to be out as to the identity of the perpetrator of this crime, whoever they are they deserve some real punishment if caught. I do hope that the memorial can be cleaned and restored quickly. It seems to me that a lot of things that many of "our" generations would respect, now mean little to the current custodians of "British mainstream culture". A very sad state of affairs.

[Chugalug2]

The BC Memorial is in good company. The statue of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, GCB, OBE, AFC was similarly defaced from the moment of unveiling. Such actions are simply comment on those who perpetrate them. Well done Doug Radcliffe, I'm sure that the men from the council will be along very shortly...

[Melchett01]

WO Radcliffe's stand has, rightly, generated quite a lot of interest and comment on Facebook - especially amongst military types.

As it is just over the road, I wonder if the Club might be able to assist in anyway with coffee and rations?

[thing]

Very very sad; I hope all those near WO Radcliffe will lend some support. It's a changing country and I suppose the rally call is to change with it but there are surely some basic standards that we can all adhere to?

Men like Mr Radcliffe were ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances who rose to the challenge; maybe we can too.

[John Botwood]

Has anyone stood by W/O Radcliffe.

If not. Why not??

John Botwood

[mmitch]

Being reported elsewhere that Mr Radcliffe was looked after by the RAF club and later returned home while the police kept watch. The RAFB who are responsible for the memorials upkeep will have to pay to have it cleansed.
mmitch.

[snagged1]

Does anyone have a contact for who looks after the memorial please?

I will gladly go and clean the memorial - disgusting that it has not already been done (unless being used for evidence of course).

[John Botwood]

mmitch

Thanks for that sir. Having not seen much in reference, I was compelled to enquire.

My age and position decide what I can do. 18 hours in a Shack was alright all those years ago: but air travel in economy is a little too much.

Nice to see that the niceties were upheld.

Yours aye

JohnB

[The B Word]

I note that the papers/media have produced a somewhat imbalanced report on all of this without mentioning the many Muslims that died for the Allies during WWI and WWII. For example, Noor Inayat Khan:


Noor Inayat Khan, a descendant of the legendary Tipu Sultan, was a secret agent in the Second World War. She was infiltrated into France by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Churchill’s secret organisation that sought to “set Europe ablaze”.

Armed with only a false passport and a pistol, the beautiful and gentle Noor became the first woman radio operator to be sent to occupied Paris.

However, she was betrayed and captured by the Germans. Despite being repeatedly tortured and interrogated, she revealed nothing. She was executed by an SS officer on September 13, 1944, at Dachau Concentration Camp. She was only 30.

Britain posthumously awarded her the George Cross for her extraordinary bravery, and France honoured her with the Croix de Guerre.

The Noor Inayat Khan Memorial was successful in its campaign to install the memorial of Noor in Gordon Square. On 8 November 2012, HRH The Princess Royal unveiled the memorial at a moving ceremony attended by over 450 people, including Noor's family, veterans, M.Ps, peers, Ambassadors, High Commissioners and guests from India, USA, Germany, Netherlands, France and Russia. A special message from Noor's brother, Hidayat Inayat-Khan was read out. It has been a wonderful journey and we would like to thank everyone for it.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Noor_Inayat_Khan.jpeg/220px-Noor_Inayat_Khan.jpeg

Here is the very brave SOE agent, in RAF Uniform, before her sad and untimely death.

The failure by the media/press to mention the Muslim effort in these conflicts fighting on our side only serves to fuel the growing fire of hatred towards all Muslims...:ugh:

Like has been said elsewhere - there are nutcases in all religions!

The B Word

[adminblunty]

Whilst this is a reprehensible act, I always wondered why the Bomber Command Memorial was located in Central London when Bomber Command HQ was at RAF High Wycombe. You know that place called Air Cmd now with the Spitfire and Hurricane outside and no mention of Bomber Command! Perhaps if the affected stone needs to be replaced (As suggested on Radio 4 this evening) the whole memorial should be moved to Air Cmd...

[NutLoose]

The odd thing is far from dividing people, after the initial revulsion at the act, it seems to pull the people together from different races and religions in condemning it, so actually has the opposite effect to that they intended.

[Basil]

I knew of and honour the memory of Noor Inayat Khan and am very glad to read that she now has a memorial in London. I hadn't been aware of that.

[barnstormer1968]

I agree with Newt in post #13

I saw the memorial for the first time in March this year, and was very moved by its beauty and purpose.

This is a monument to some very brave men who gave their lives so that the world would be free from murder in the name of race and religion (some of the aircrew would have been Muslim) and this is just awful IMHO.

[Daysleeper]

Perhaps if the affected stone needs to be replaced (As suggested on Radio 4 this evening) the whole memorial should be moved to Air Cmd.

While from time to time I dislike the London Centric nature of our country the centre of the capital is the right place for this memorial.

I would suggest that one of the purposes of its location is so that future generations will look on it and it will cause them perhaps to pause and reflect on the valour and sacrifice of so many.

I think (at least I hope) that all those in Air Command both now and in the future will understand that the costs of the decisions they make may be counted in lives, sometimes tens of thousands of them.

[Whenurhappy]

"I knew of and honour the memory of Noor Inayat Khan and am very glad to read that she now has a memorial in London. I hadn't been aware of that."

And of course, there is a memorial to her in the Shower Block at KZ Dachau, and it generates a considerable amount of interest there.

[SpannerInTheWerks]

It is more than likely that the perpetrator, irrespective of ethnic origin or religion, will be a British citizen.

This is the 'free World' for which the members of Bomber Command fought and died.

KR

SITW

[Tankertrashnav]

I would disagree with any plan to move the memorial to High Wycombe - in any case I am sure that would completely impractical and prohibitively expensive.

Until 2004, policing of the Royal Parks was carried out by the Royal Parks Constabularly, who were separate from the Metropolitan Police. Since its disbandment, responsibility has passed to the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit of the Met. I sincerely hope that questions are being asked of this unit, and that they are taking steps to keep a closer eye on this important memorial. For a start it should be quite straightforward to have CCTV monitoring.

[NutLoose]

Perhaps if the affected stone needs to be replaced (As suggested on Radio 4 this evening) the whole memorial should be moved to Air Cmd.

I wondered that myself at the time as Sandstone being porus the paint will soak into the stone and be nigh on impossible to remove...

Look at that other historical sandstone building vandalised, that had to be painted white after the Brits of old passed by and torched the place, the soot and smoke had soaked into the stone around the windows and doors which was impossible for them to remove....
Ohh and the place the British vandalised way back in August 1814

http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/935/935133_300.jpg

Here endeth the history lesson :8

[TEEEJ]

Islam graffiti yob on CCTV at Bomber Command war memorial | The Sun |News (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4947526/Islam-graffiti-yob-on-CCTV-at-Bomber-Command-war-memorial.html)

[Torque Tonight]

Vandals hit RAF Bomber Command Memorial again - Crime - London24 (http://www.london24.com/news/crime/vandals_hit_raf_bomber_command_memorial_again_1_2223800)

Perhaps the police can spare a couple of bobbies to pound the beat in Piccadilly, or are they all to busy providing bodyguards for that poisonous extremist across town. :ugh:

[Basil]

Vile graffiti vandals attack Bomber Command memorial AGAIN | UK | News | Daily Express (http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/405288/Vile-graffiti-vandals-attack-Bomber-Command-memorial-AGAIN)
The RAF Bomber Command War Memorial in Green Park, London has been painted with the words: "LEE RIGBY KILLERS SHUD HANG".
No matter which side the perp is on, he is a prat of the first water.

[NutLoose]

Is that what it says?..... Sigh..... why deface a superb and stunning tribute that was hard fought for, not just during the war, but in the subsequent fundraising to finally and dare I say it belatedly, get a fitting monument to these people we owe so much too....

I do hope the catch the illiterate scrote that did this and make him fully pay for the repairs and then jail him.
One does wonder how these folks would have faired if we had lost the war and we were now part of the so called Third Reich.

My worry is if these folks will see this memorial as a billboard that gets them and their agenda noticed and it becomes frequent, hence the pay and prison to deter others.



..

[smujsmith]

Nutloose,

I second your views, any attempt to make a "special" case of this vandalism will only make this hard won memorial a bigger target for all and sundry angry people. Surely in an age when a government can give priority to blokes marrying blokes etc, they can find time to push through a law that penalises, heavily, anyone defacing public monuments and memorials. What happens if and when these idiots, whoever they are, get in to the NM Arboretum at Alrewas ? Whatever, I think that this sort of thing is fairly new so needs nipping in the bud big time. I won't hold my breath for any political priority for it though.

Smudge

[parabellum]

This is the stuff they need:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/IPM8OR6W6WE?feature (http://www.youtube.com/embed/IPM8OR6W6WE?feature)

[Heathrow Harry]

There are of course laws against this - the problem is catching the idiots

A bigger problem when you catch them is convincing them that they've done something really awful

[Chugalug2]

HH, I think that you might have got to the nub of this. The laws that you mention would no doubt group painting graffiti on a memorial and a railway carriage in much the same way. Of course there is discretion in the sanctions applied in each case, but in this one most of us would find them all wanting. We have here a memorial to prodigious duty and sacrifice which is not the way it is seen my many who pass by it. The "idiots" know this, and in defacing it manage to drive a wedge between those, like most of us here, who are outraged by their action and those who are at best indifferent to it.

The only immediate solution would seem to be protection; technical as hinted by parabellum, physical ie gated fences etc, or deterrent ie CCTV surveillance. The one thing this memorial has in its favour is physical proximity to the RAF Club. Could not a watch be mounted from there? A room given over to surveillance screens with local volunteers rostered, fed, and accommodated in it by the Club? They could then alert a preplanned and agreed response from the Police. I have a feeling that the RAF, past and present, needs to rise to this threat, for if they don't who will?