Bombers’ memorial

SOME 55,573 aircrew were killed serving with Bomber Command during World War Two – more than the number serving with the RAF today.

The strike force was formed in 1936 as war clouds gathered over Europe.

Downing Street hoped its formation would act as a war deterrent, but Hitler’s Third Reich had other ideas.

The Nazi Blitzkrieg quickly defeated France and effectively left Britain isolated to fight alone against the Nazis in Europe.

During the Battle of Britain, Bomber Command played a vital – but largely unheralded role – attacking invasion barges preparing to embark for the British coast.

By 1941, with the war taking its toll, PM Winston Churchill was clear what steps needed to be taken.

In a private letter, Churchill wrote: “When I look round to see how we can win this war there is only one sure path… and that is an absolutely devastating, exterminating attack by very heavy bombers from this country upon the Nazi homeland.”

That vision was dragged into brutal existence in 1942 by Air Marshall Arthur Harris.

His mandate was to attack German industry in a bid to bring the enemy to its knees.

And that he did. His first mass raid on Cologne in May 1942, dubbed “a thousand bomber raid”, shocked Germany to its core. Other missions followed, including the famous Dam Busters raid of May 1943, which shook the world with its audacity and inherent heroism.

In total, some 7377 Lancaster bombers flew more than 150,000 missions during World War Two, with 3249 aircraft lost.

Today the men of Bomber Command have been honoured with a memorial erected in London’s Green Park.

The upkeep of the memorial is reliant on donations, which can be made by calling 0207 580 8343.