Bomber Command Memorial

[newt]

Before Christmas there was a thread on here about raising money for the Bomber Command Memorial by means of a walk or cycle ride.

Does anyone have any information as to the latest state of play?

[Hugh Spencer]

Everything seems to have gone quiet but latest developments may be found on:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/rafbombercommand/

[forget]

I can well understand why the ‘Friends of RAF Bicester’ want any Memorial based at ‘their baby’ but I’m baffled by an article in the Daily Telegraph, 25th January.

In the darkest hours of the Second World War, RAF Bicester was at the very heart of Bomber Command's strategic offensive against Germany's industrial heartland. Bomber crews based at the Oxfordshire airfield won the RAF's first two Victoria Crosses of the war ……..

Was this written by a revisionist Hollywood producer? :confused: Someone’s bending the odds here. What goes on? As I’ve said before, a Bomber Command Memorial at Bicester is akin to a Coastal Command Memorial in Birmingham.

Fact. RAF Bicester. In 1937/1938 two squadrons of the new Bristol Blenheim bomber arrive, followed by two more squadrons in 1939 with Spitfires and with Avro Anson support aircraft, forming the No 1 Camouflage Unit. The aircraft were used for training, with no operational sorties being flown from the field.

Daily Telegraph article. NEEDS PIC Fight to save WW2 bomber base for the nation - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4337232/NEEDS-PIC-Fight-to-save-WW2-bomber-base-for-the-nation.html)

First two RAF VCs here;

Donald Edward Garland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Edward_Garland)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gray_(VC)

12 Squadron here.

No. 12 Squadron RAF - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._12_Squadron_RAF)

[Archimedes]

The Torygraph seems to have wildly misunderstood the presentation that the BCH group give.

12 Squadron were sent to Bicester in May 1939 and deployed from there to Berry-au-Bac on 2 Sept 1939. (See Mason's Leads the Field, Moyes Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and Jeff Jefford's bible on RAF squadrons as sources)

The BCH group presentation makes the point that Bicester's heritage includes the fact that, by dint of 12 being at Bicester, the squadron which contained first two RAF VCs of the war happened to have had Bicester as its last location in the UK before the squadron went overseas.

They don't make any claim that 12 Sqn attempted to carry out ops against the Germans from Bicester. One can infer from the presentation that Garland and Gray were with the unit while it was at Bicester (I have no idea whether they were), which may not be accurate.

As for the memorial, the impression I had from their presentation on Saturday was that (a) they're not claiming it must be at Bicester (in fact, I can't recall them mentioning it, unless it came up before I arrived at the event) but (b) they would not demur at anyone expressing the view that there would seem to be a certain logic to having a Bomber Command memorial at the Bomber Command museum.

[forget]

(b) they would not demur at anyone expressing the view that there would seem to be a certain logic to having a Bomber Command memorial at the Bomber Command museum.

If that's Museum with a capital 'M', then it's Hendon. :confused:

The Battle of Britain Museum was opened at Hendon in 1978, the Bomber Command Museum following five years later.

[Hugh Spencer]

I was under the impression that Westminster City Council (?) had already offered space for the BC Memorial on the edge of Regents Park, close to where volunteers entered the Reception Centre at St John's Wood. I presume fund raising is still underway.

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

I was there on Saturday as well and certainly don't recall any such claim being made by Bch

[Archimedes]

Forget - strictly speaking, it's the "Bomber Command Hall" at Hendon, not the "Bomber Command Museum".

Indeed, a look at the RAFM website suggests that it seems to be called 'The Bomber Hall' now, because it commemorates both Bomber Command and USAAF Eighth & Ninth Air Forces; on top of that, it contains aircraft which did not serve with Bomber Command (an He162 is in there).

I suspect that this is why the BCH group are expressing the aspiration to be a (the?) Bomber Command museum since their aim seems to be solely to deal with that Command (although hopefully they'll remember 100 Group and some reference to the NF Mosquitos will be there...)

ISTR that on another thread, Chugalug (apolgies if I have taken his name in vain, but he posted quite a bit on it) said that the Bomber Command Association support the BCH campaign.

Finally, bear in mind that there is no evidence that the BCH group are trying to have the Bomber Command memorial in Bicester.

What they want, I believe, is to take a disused but highly representative location and turn it into an extensive tribute to Bomber Command. I can't see much wrong with that, TBH.