Bomber Command Memorial
 

A ceremony was held yesterday as a turf cutting was carried out to start the building of the Bomber Command Memorial. It is a good indication that everything can go ahead now. Funding is entirely by private donations.

I drive down Piccadilly past the location most days, and will keep an eye open on progress.

Father (Halifax aircrew) would have been pleased.

WHBM,

I'm sure many of us would appreciate it if you can post the occassional update on progress. My 87 year old mother lost her first husband (Lancaster aircrew) shortly after they were married. She's very much hoping to visit the memorial when completed, but given her age and declining health, she's understandably impatient.

Bomber Command Memorial
 

Hi WHPM,
Have you been able to see what is going on at the Memorial site?

Our two daughters were in the vicinity of Green Park on Sunday 17/07/2011, and I had asked them to take a look, but they were not able to view any progress. Possibly because the area is screened?

Timely reminder. Currently out of the country but I'll have a look on Friday 29th when I'm back.

As described, have been into the park today, have to report that progress on the ground to date is nil.

Having walked all round and thought I had somehow missed it, I called the park managers (if interested, 020-7930-1793) and was told that work had not yet started, and that the ceremony was somewhat in advance of things. It appears, from this discussion, that the actual location is in the north-west corner of the park, at Hyde Park Corner. The memorial will be ready in 2012 as well.

A pleasant day for a walk in the park though. I'll keep up with things.

A bit more here :

Bomber Command Memorial

I fancy the RAF Club will be full for quite a few days at the time of its completion - and a long time afterwards. It could do with it!

Sorry all, haven't updated this for some time, there wasn't a lot of progress initially but now things are fully mobilised on site.

Anyone coming to the November 11th ceremonies in Whitehall can head across to the far end of Green Park (quite a walk though) to see progress. Sorry, I gave an inaccurate location earlier of the site in the park (now corrected), it is actually here :

Google Maps

at the very west end of Piccadilly, facing the Hard Rock Cafe across the road, alongside where the westbound Hyde Park Corner underpass starts to go down. Nearest Underground is Hyde Park Corner.

Google Maps have bizarrely plotted the InterContinental Hotel, London, right on the location in the park where the memorial is going !

The selected contractor is Gilbert Ash, from Belfast, now fully mobilised and with a large crane installed to handle the various masonry blocks. Stonemasons are S McConnell & Sons, who also did the stonework on the Diana Memorial in Kensington Palace Gardens.

At the 2011 Eastbourne Airshow I had the pleasure of meeting Mr J.V.Williams, Chairman of the Bomber Command Tribute Beachy Head Committee. I thought you would like to know that they have now made good progress with their project to create a small memorial at the clifftop site, as detailed in the progress report included in their very informative website:

www.bombercommandtribute.org

Brief update

The contractors have fully surrounded the site with boarding, but you can get little squints through at places. Looks like they are about 50% complete with the structure.

Another update.

I see today that the wraps are starting to come off; the construction boards surrounding the site are coming down, and the protective sheeting around the main structure of the memorial is being removed as well, so for the first time you can see the pillar-type construction, and the scale of the overall memorial.

Hopefully onto the final stages now.

My thanks
 

WHBM,

Many thanks for your updates. Any chance of taking and posting a photo now that the wraps are coming down?

Wonderful news that Robin Gibb has confounded everyone, including his doctors, by emerging from a week long coma and making wonderful progress since. He has a date in his diary set at 28th June 2012. Let us all hope that he continues to get well and can indeed be in Green Park then.
BBC News - Bee Gee Robin Gibb's recovery 'confounds' doctors
Get well soon, Sir. The Bomber Command Veterans, The Royal Air Force, and this nation owe you a great debt. Thanks to your driving it forward we can at last acknowledge in turn the debt that we all owe to those who made the final sacrifice in Bomber Command on behalf of us all. It has been too long, though. Far too long.

I'm sure we will all be saddened by the news today of the death of Robin Gibb, who was a key driver of this project. I hope he was able to see the progress made recently.

BBC News - Bee Gees' singer Robin Gibb dies after cancer battle

I missed the tickets application for 28 June, and can only find out that it is "around lunchtime", but I still hope to be able to find a slot to go. Anyone else ?

Carol Vorderman appears to have taken over the publicity role from Robin Gibb, essential if you are to get into the mass-market media nowadays. I did read that her father was in the Dutch Resistance. I wonder if he remembered the drops of food supplies over The Netherlands by Bomber Command in early 1945 ?

Good to see that the RAF were represented in a small way at least at Robin Gibb's funeral in Thame yesterday:
http://www.pprune.org/newreply.php?d...3656&noquote=1
A more permanent tribute though might be appropriate. Some might say that the BC Memorial itself would more than suffice and they would have a point, but that of course commemorates the 55573 aircrew that gave their lives in WWII.
The Royal Air Force could do worse than provide a plaque at its church at St Clement Danes in tribute to this stalwart and driven friend of the Services that made the memorial in Green Park a possibility, instead of the mere aspiration it had remained for over 60 years.
RIP to a man who did more in his short life for HM Forces than whole Departments of State failed to.

WHBM,
I applied for a single ticket in May .Filled out an application form still have not heard anything . The Queen is attending and so I suspect all her officials so will be surprised if I get a ticket now. The service is at midday for approx one hour. If you do not get a ticket is it worth attending? probably better to visit after the event when quieter. Anybody out there who can update us if all tickets have gone out ?

I appplied some time back and got a reply (e mail) a week or so ago-saying that they were oversubscribed and that no more tickets were available.