The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Runnymede Meadow, The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial, The Savill Garden,and Royal Holloway, University of L ...

, near

Egham Egham ( ) is a town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna Carta was ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England is a memorial dedicated to some 20,456 men and women from air forces of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

who were lost in air and other operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Those recorded have no known grave anywhere in the world, and many were lost without trace. The name of each of these airmen and airwomen is engraved into the stone walls of the memorial, according to country and squadron.

Design

The memorial was commissioned and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The architect was Sir

Edward Maufe Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe, RA, FRIBA (12 December 1882 – 12 December 1974) was an English architect and designer. He built private homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings, and is remembered chiefly for his work on place ...

with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton, and the poem engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott. It was the first post-World War II building to be listed for architectural merit. From the memorial there are views over the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

and

Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, bordering Berkshire and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with ...

Meadow, where

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

was sealed by King John in 1215. Distant views of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

may be had from the viewpoint in the memorial tower; such monuments as the

London Eye The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and the most popular paid Tourist attractions in the ...

and the arch of

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

are visible on clear days.

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

and the surrounding area can be seen to the West.

Location

The memorial is on Coopers Hill Lane, Englefield Green, next to the former Runnymede campus of

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

and Kingswood Hall of

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

since 1965 when it was converted from a convent. For location map, showing its proximity to other Runnymede memorials, see

Status

It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and was completed in 1953.

People memorialised

Amongst the many thousands of airmen and women whose names are recorded on the Memorial are: * Flight Sergeant Edwin Watson, Scottish air gunner and professional footballer known as the Flying Fifer * Flight Lieutenant

Howard Peter Blatchford Wing commander (rank), Wing Commander Howard Peter "Cowboy" Blatchford (25 February 1912 – 3 May 1943) was a flying ace, who achieved the first Canadians, Canadian victory in World War II. Blatchford was born in Edmonton, Alberta on 25 Febru ...

, Canadian

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

veteran pilot * Flying Officer David Moore Crook, fighter pilot * Flight Lieutenant Arthur ('Art') Donahue, American RAF

Flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

, author * Flight Lieutenant John Dundas, flying ace * Wing Commander Brendan (Paddy) Finucane, flying ace * Squadron Leader Hilary Hood, Battle of Britain pilot casualty * First Officer ATA

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records dur ...

, aviator * Pilot Officer Vernon ('Shorty') Keogh, American RAF Battle of Britain pilot * Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan, GC recipient, SOE agent * Sergeant Leslie Lack, pre-war

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

football player * Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock, flying ace * Pilot Officer William (Willie) McKnight, Canadian flying ace * Wing Commander John Dering Nettleton, VC recipient * Pilot Officer Esmond Romilly,

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

writer * Pilot Officer Derek Teden, England rugby international * Wing Commander Alois Vasatko, Czech flying ace * Squadron Leader Geoffrey Warnes of No. 263 Squadron RAF

References

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External links