UK/FILE: Britain's Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attend the dedication and unveiling of a memorial to the 55,573 airmen of Britain's Bomber Command who died during World War II

Record ID: 357524

  • Title: UK/FILE: Britain's Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attend the dedication and unveiling of a memorial to the 55,573 airmen of Britain's Bomber Command who died during World War II
  • Date: 29th June 2012
  • Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS (FILE - FEBRUARY 24 1944) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) GAUMONT NEWSREEL SLATE VARIOUS OF BOMBER COMMAND'S LANCASTER BOMBERS IN REPORT ENTITILED "DETAILS OF THE BIG R.A.F ASSAULT ON MANNHEIM"
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: War / Fighting,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVAG4JO5RYP3ZC9VWN5WVQTG2OU
  • Story Text: The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the British Royal Family attended the dedication and unveiling of a memorial to tens of thousands of airmen who died in the Second World War on Thursday (June 28).
    The Bomber Command Memorial in London's Green Park remembers the sacrifice and bravery of the 55,573 British Royal Air Force (RAF) crew who lost their lives in the conflict.
    Its centrepiece, which was unveiled by the Queen, is a 9ft bronze sculpture depicting a seven-man bomber crew returning from a mission. The design of the roof is inspired by a Vickers Wellington aircraft and incorporates sections of aluminium recovered from a Handley Page Halifax III bomber shot down over Belgium on May 12 1944.
    Veterans from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries who served alongside the British crew also attended the ceremony.
    A service to dedicate the memorial followed before a flypast by five RAF GR4 Tornado bomber aircraft crewed by the RAF.
    Finally there was a flypast by the RAF's last flying Lancaster Bomber, which dropped poppies over the park as a message of remembrance for those who died.
    The RAF's Bomber Command was formed in 1936 with a mission to attack Germany's airbases, troops and industrial complexes connected to the war effort.
  • Copyright Holder: GAUMONT BRITISH NEWSREEL (REUTERS)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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