There has been recent TV News coverage of the opening of the Museum that has replaced the demolished Chapel Vestry at Biggin Hill. The cost in Remembrance terms alone is described by the ever stalwart Dr Rita Radford :-
Dear RAF Chapel Friends,No doubt some of you have seen the recent publicity for the BHMM Museum on the television and in the press. I am sure the exhibits within the building are interesting, but the effects of this Museum project on the Chapel and the Garden of Remembrance have been catastrophic. What has happened to the Garden of Remembrance over the last two weeks has been so upsetting for the ‘Friends of the Chapel’ who have cared for the gardens for decades, that they have been compelled to issue a statement to the public requesting their help to oppose the BHMM Trust’s actions. The BHMM Trust have cut down the trees around the garden and now have demolished the wisteria-covered oak and brick Pergola/Arbour which extended across the rear of the garden, a feature of the Chapel since the 1950s, and was also within the consecrated area. Somehow during the demolition, the Sundial that stands at the front of the garden has been smashed. The ashes of several hundred RAF personnel are interred in the garden, which is therefore a Cemetery, but unbelievably the Trust have now erected a six foot high ugly signage Monolith in front of the Garden, directing the public to the Toilets and the Café through the consecrated ground which is no longer a defined area! The Monolith was part of a planning application that has yet to be approved. This has been a distressing time for the ‘Friends’ and I urge everyone who has an interest in the Garden of Remembrance, particularly if they have relatives, or know of someone, interred in the garden, to email the ‘Friends’ at:
[email protected] Everyone please click here and then scroll down to see all the latest photos of the garden and further information: https://www.facebook.com/Protect-Biggin-Hill-RAF-Chapel-1939582632926986/ (https://www.facebook.com/Protect-Biggin-Hill-RAF-Chapel-1939582632926986/) As always, please share this message and encourage others to sign the petition so we in turn can support the ‘Friends of the Chapel’ to the best of our ability.https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/protect-biggin-hill-st-george-s-raf-chapel-of-remembrance# (https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/protect-biggin-hill-st-george-s-raf-chapel-of-remembrance)Yours, Rita Radford (
[email protected])