The Royal Air Force Memorial is a military memorial on the

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfare ...

in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(and, by extension, all subsequent conflicts). Unveiled in 1923, it became a Grade II

listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1958, and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2018. It is considered to be the official memorial of the RAF and related services. It is sited at Whitehall Steps, near

Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needles are a separated pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks now in London and New York City. The obelisks were originally made in Heliopolis (modern Cairo) during the New Kingdom period, inscribed by the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I ...

, between the north-bank ends of

Charing Cross Bridge The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd (who use its official name of Charing Cross Bridge) it is a steel truss railway bridge ...

and

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...

, and directly to the east of the main Ministry of Defence building on

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. The

Fleet Air Arm Memorial The Fleet Air Arm Memorial, sometimes known as ''Daedalus'', is a war memorial in London, commemorating the service of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Fleet Air Arm from their establishments in 1914 and 1924 respectively, in the First World ...

and the Battle of Britain Monument are nearby.

Background

A committee to erect an RAF memorial was first established in February 1919, and relaunched in January 1920, led by Lord

Hugh Cecil Hugh Cecil Saunders (14 December 1889 – March 1974 Brighton) was an English photographer of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, who practised under the professional name of Hugh Cecil. Born in Kingston upon Thames to Frederick Atkinson Saunders and ...

and Air Chief Marshal Sir

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...

. Funds to erect a memorial were raised by the RAF Memorial Fund subsequently known as the

RAF Benevolent Fund The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAF Benevolent Fund or RAFBF) is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF – regardless of rank – as wel ...

. The memorial was designed by

Sir Reginald Blomfield Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856 – 27 December 1942) was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Early life and career Blomfield was born at Bow rectory in Devon, w ...

. The memorial was unveiled on 16 July 1923 by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). The Chief of the Air Staff traditionally places a wreath at the memorial on

Battle of Britain Day Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 1940, is the day on which a large-scale aerial battle in the Battle of Britain took place.Mason 1969, p. 386.Price 1990, p. 128. In June 1940, the '' Wehrmacht'' had conquered most of Western Europe and Sc ...

, 15 September, each year.

Description

The memorial comprises a tapering Portland stone pylon topped by zodiacal globe bearing a gilded eagle, taken from the RAF's badge, with raised wings, facing east towards the River Thames and nominally towards France. The eagle was sculpted by

William Reid Dick Sir William Reid Dick, (13 January 1878 – 1 October 1961) was a Scottish sculptor known for his innovative stylisation of form in his monument sculptures and simplicity in his portraits. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1921, a ...

and cast by the Parlanti Foundry. Blomfield used similar pylons for Torquay War Memorial and Luton War Memorial, topped by different devices. The pylon bears inscriptions on the sides facing the Embankment to the west and to the river to the east. Further inscriptions were added after the Second World War, unveiled by Trenchard on 15 September 1946.

Inscriptions

Around the top of the pylon, each face bears alternately the words and , from the motto of the RAF, "''Per ardua ad astra''", this was initially the Royal Flying Corps motto when created in 1912. On the west side of the pylon facing the Embankment, the words "''Per Ardua''" are picked out in gold, and lower down there is the RAF insignia, and a dedication: , and a quotation from Exodus, chapter 19: . Further down, on the base, is another inscription . The side facing the river bears the RAF insignia again and the inscription: . Thus, the monument was not initially created purely for the RAF, but for all 'Air Services' that served during World War One.

References

Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAFBF)

Royal Air Force Memorial by Philip Ward-Jackson
Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund *
Imperial War Museums

London Remembers
{{coord, 51, 30, 14.35, N, 0, 7, 23.25, W, type:landmark, display=title 1923 establishments in England 1923 sculptures Sculptures of birds British military memorials and cemeteries Buildings and structures completed in 1923 Grade II* listed statues in the City of Westminster Grade II* listed monuments and memorials Military memorials in London Outdoor sculptures in London Reginald Blomfield buildings Royal Air Force memorials Stone sculptures in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Victoria Embankment

Background

Description

Inscriptions

See also

Other Royal Air Force Memorials

Other RAF memorials

References