This is just one panel of the memorial at Duxford. Each aircraft represents one aircraft of that type and its crew lost in WW2. It is the most thought-provoking, superbly designed memorial I know of; the other is the memorial to all the female pilots of WW2 which is located at Elvington and is, as far as I am aware, the only one of its kind
DX W I agree, the other memorials that make you stand and think are the Menem gate in Belgium (
http://www.wesselton.nl/Ypres,%20WWI.html ). A huge marble edifice with the names of thoise who died in the first world (Great) war and the Vietnam memorial in Washington (
http://thewall-usa.com/wallpics/wallatnight.htm ), a huge angular black marble wall with all 58,000+ names engraved.
The sheer size of each one and the small size of each name make it difficult not to stand in silence for a few moments taking it all in.
But I do love the Lancaster, in some ways, perhaps a better memorial to have it flying round.
On a lighter note, in 2003 we had a reunion/visit to our airfield by veterans of 388th Bomb Group and their relatives. We had a little fly in and took as many as wanted for a flight around the area. I had the good luck to take one of the veterans for a flight. He knew more about the area than I did. He kept asking about a wood shaped like an arrow. I thought it must have long gone. As we took off he pointed it out, very clear and just like an arrow only 1 mile north of our airfield. He said that they would be fined if they landed back at the wrong airfield (easy to do as there are 5 or 6 within a 5 mile radius). So they had this wood memorised to make sure they kept all their pay.
He had a lot of other remarkable stories and had bought his old flying jacket with a picture on the back "Skipper and the kids". I have some photos of my son wearing it so hopefully the memory will pass down the generations.