Background to the Monument
We are extremely grateful to Westminster Council who donated a superb site on the Victoria Embankment. The location is on the north side of the river Thames between the RAF Memorial and Westminster bridge.
The site is based on an existing panelled granite structure 25 metres long. This structure was originally designed as a smoke outlet for underground trains when they were powered by steam engines and had been filled up and blocked for many years.
A walkway was cut obliquely through the middle of the existing structure and bronze reliefs, depicting aspects of the Battle in the air and the back-up on the ground, are positioned along either side. Bronze plaques holding in raised relief the names and ranks of the airmen who took part in the battle are mounted around the outside of the monument, the airmen’s names being grouped under their respective countries.