TV comedy actors in memorial plea

Actors from TV comedy Only Fools and Horses have thrown their weight behind an appeal to keep Kent’s Battle of Britain Memorial going during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Trust behind the Capel-leferne experience fears it will be unable to sustain the memorial in the longer term having lost all usual income since its temporary closure in March. All fundraising events have been cancelled and with the memorial, shop, café, Scramble Experience and car park all shut, the Trust says “the situation is very serious”.

It is now turning to the public to help keep the memorial which is a tribute to the men, known as the Few, who fought in the Battle of Britain in 1940 - afloat.

As a result, an online crowd funding appeal has been launched, with £2,200 so far being raised of the £20,000 target. To help, actors John Challis and Sue Holderness - who played married couple Boycie and Marlene in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses and in spin off The Green Green Grass - have released videos encouraging people to donate.

In his, Mr Challis says: “I’m delighted to lend my support to this crowdfunder appeal on behalf of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. Now the Trust does a fantastic job highlighting the sacrifices made by the Few in 1940, and also teaches young people and others all about the Battle of Britain.”

Mrs Holderness adds: “The memorial at Capel-le-ferne is very dear to me as a relative of one of the Few. So I urge you all to please support the wonderful work done by the people at the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, to ensure this and future generations may learn the lessons of the victory won by the RAF in 1940.”

Also lending his support is John Nichol, a retired Royal Air Force navigator who was shot down and captured during the Gulf War.

Mr Nichol says: “I was shot down during the first Gulf War in 1990 but my experience of combat then is nothing compared to the experiences of the Few during the Battle of Britain in 1940. It’s the Battle of Britain Memorial that helps to keep their memory, their contribution, their sacrifice alive and now it’s our turn to help keep the Trust alive.”

As well as being home to the National Memorial to the Few, the cliff top site also hosts a replica Hurricane and Spitfire, the Christopher Foxley-norris Memorial Wall and The Wing, a modern visitor centre featuring The Scramble Experience. A spokesman for the Trust said:”the National Memorial receives no public funding and relies on fundraising, donations and the income it generates at the Memorial - which is currently non-existent. The situation is now very serious.

“In the same way that Churchill’s Few relied on the many - the groundcrew, WAAFS, Royal Observer Corps, etc - the Trust that honours their memory is now also relying on the many - you, the public.”

■ To donate, visit crowdfunder. co.uk/save-the-national-memorial-to-the-few

‘It does a fantastic job highlighting the sacrifices made by the Few in 1940’