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Old 5th Mar 2010, 05:57
  #86 (permalink)  
Old-Duffer
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Northamptonshire
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RAF Memorials

In the UK then (and now globally) service personnel are buried/cremated in accordance with their family's wishes.

All RAF personnel who have died are commemorated in Books of Remembrance at St Clement Danes in the Strand and there are 'copy' versions available to be looked through, although the 'real' engraved books are under glass and a page is turned each day. Since 1 Jan 48, all Service personnel who died 'on duty' - as opposed to in their beds (no disrespect intended) - are also commemorated at the Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas (impressive place to see).

The commemoration is not made at Biggin Hill Chapel because there was never any absolute certainty of permanence about the station and as we now know, the RAF is gone and it is only by good fortune that the chapel remains.

I think you can be assured that whatever else you might think is wrong, the RAF does honour its dead. Indeed Alrewas was created in part because ONLY the RAF had a central record of all its deaths in service, with the RN close behind and the Army using the Regimental/Corps system.

O-D
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