Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial

About

This memorial, at the top of Coopers Hill, above the Magana Carta Memorial and the Kennedy Memorial overlooks the River Thames. It commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves.

They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.

The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe 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. The Memorial was unveiled by The Queen on 17 October 1953.

Disabled badge holders may use the on-site parking area in front of the memorial. All other visitors requiring parking are asked to make use of the public car park some 200 yards from the memorial on Coopers Hill Lane.

Note:An Audio Guide to the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede is now available from the CWGC website at www.cwgc.org via the home page, Learning and Resources, Audio Resources.