Fund holds Bomber Command Memorial Service to remember WW2 veterans

On Sunday 25 June, the annual Bomber Command Memorial Anniversary Service was held at the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London. The event was a heartfelt tribute to the 55,573 courageous young men from across the UK and around the world who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Bomber Command.

The RAF Benevolent Fund, as guardians of the Bomber Command Memorial, was honoured to hold the annual service of remembrance in the company of veterans, supporters of the Fund and the Memorial and representatives from the Commonwealth and Allied nations involved in Bomber Command.

The service was led by Reverend (Sqn Ldr) Andrew Chapman, Station Chaplain at RAF High Wycombe, and included readings, and a minute’s silence and wreath laying in memory of all those lost and fell.

The Memorial, officially unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen on 28 June 2012, was built using Portland stone and features bronze sculptures of a Bomber Command aircrew. Within the memorial, the space is open to the sky with an opening designed to allow light to fall directly onto sculptures of the aircrew.

The design for the roof incorporates sections of aluminium recovered from a Handley Page Halifax III bomber (LW682 from No. 426 squadron) shot down over Belgium on the night of 12 May 1944, in which eight crew were killed.

Veteran George Dunn DFC L'dH, 100, completed 44 operations during the Second World War. George attended the Memorial and said: "Bomber Command means everything to me because I think without it, the war would have gone on much longer. 

"I have been involved with the RAF Benevolent Fund since about 2009. Even though we are not at war, there are still people that are suffering from the effects of previous wars like World War Two and the Falklands who need the help of the RAF Benevolent Fund."

You can continue to honour the memory of those who have bravely gone before by supporting the Fund's Bomber Command Remembrance Fund, to help the veterans they served alongside, and the serving personnel who follow in their footsteps, going through difficult times today.