RAF Bomber Command Memorial

Following World War II the legacy of Bomber Command proved controversial, with both legal and ethical arguments highlighting the indiscriminate nature of strategic bombing. During World War II, many military strategists of air power believed that air forces could win major victories by attacking industrial and political infrastructure, rather than purely military targets. Strategic bombing often involved bombing areas inhabited by civilians, and some campaigns were deliberately designed to target civilian populations in order to terrorize them or to weaken their morale. Although International law at the outset of World War II did not specifically forbid the aerial bombardment of cities, the scale of the destruction and of civilian casualties proved to be a distasteful memory of the conflict. The controversy meant that an official memorial to the aircrews was not erected until nearly 70 years after the war. An appeal was made for million (equivalent to £million in ) to build the memorial, and funding came from donations made by the public. Musicians Robin Gibb (The Bee Gees) and Jim Dooley (The Dooleys) became key figures behind the appeal, working to raise funds and have the memorial built. ==Design==

Liam O'Connor designed the memorial, built of Portland stone, which features a bronze sculpture of seven aircrew, designed by the sculptor Philip Jackson to look as though they have just returned from a bombing mission and left their aircraft. Furthermore, some of this aluminium was supplied to the International Bomber Command Centre, which opened in Lincoln, England in 2018, and forms the rear plate of its "Additions Panel". On both walls inside the monument there are inscriptions that read: and, on the opposite wall: The inside face of the architrave to the rear of the statues carries the inscription: The large plinth carrying the statues bears the inscription: The rear face has a quotation from Pericles's Funeral Oration: ==Since opening==

carrying 800,000 poppies, taking off from RAF Coningsby on 28 June 2012 for the opening ceremony Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the memorial on 28 June 2012, unveiling the bronze sculpture. The ceremony was attended by 6,000 veterans and family members of those killed, In May 2013 the memorial was vandalised. The word "Islam" was spray-painted on the memorial and on the nearby Animals in War Memorial in Hyde Park. In March 2015, Les Munro, Royal New Zealand Air Force squadron leader and one of the last surviving members of the Dambusters Raid, intended to sell his war medals and flight logbook at auction to raise funds for the upkeep of the memorial. The auction was cancelled after Michael Ashcroft donated £75,000 () to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund towards the upkeep, with a further NZ$19,500 donated by the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, New Zealand, to whom Munro then offered his medals for display. Munro, aged 96, died that August. ==See also==