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London - 5 Jun 21 - Victoria Embankment - Royal Air Force Memorial
London - 5 Jun 21 - Victoria Embankment - Royal Air Force Memorial

The Royal Air Force Memorial is a military memorial on the Victoria Embankment in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I. Unveiled in 1923, it became a Grade II listed structure in 1958, and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2018.

The memorial stands at the head of Whitehall stairs which form part of Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s Victoria Embankment scheme of 1864-1870 (Grade II-listed). Outside the Ministry of Defence (Grade I-listed), it is in close proximity to the Grade II-listed statues of General Gordon and Lord Trenchard, and a number of the Embankment’s Grade II-listed Catenary lamp standards.

The memorial is constructed in Portland stone and consists of a tall pylon on a stepped base with a deep cornice, surmounted by an upswept two-tier pedestal bearing a gilded bronze eagle with wings upstretched. The eagle, looking across the river towards France, is perched on a bronze globe encircled by a gilded band with the signs of the zodiac. The faces of the pedestal are carved with laurel wreaths and garlands.

Around the top of the pylon the faces are inscribed alternately PER ARDUA and AD ASTRA (the RAF motto, meaning ‘through adversity to the stars’). The east and west faces have vertical, slightly raised panels carved at the top with the original RAF badge approved by the Air Council in 1918.

Below the badge, the west face is inscribed IN MEMORY OF/ ALL RANKS OF THE/ ROYAL NAVAL AIR/ SERVICE ROYAL/ FLYING CORPS/ ROYAL AIR FORCE/ AND THOSE/ AIR FORCES FROM/ EVERY PART OF THE/ BRITISH EMPIRE/ WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES IN WINNING/ VICTORY FOR/ THEIR KING/ AND COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1918, and a quotation from Exodus 19:4 reading I BARE YOU ON EAGLES/ WINGS AND BROUGHT/ YOU UNTO/ MYSELF.

The base is inscribed THIS INSCRIPTION IS ADDED/ IN REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE/ MEN AND WOMEN OF THE/ AIR FORCES OF EVERY PART OF/ THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AND EMPIRE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ 1939 – 1945.

The east face, overlooking the river, is inscribed 1914/ 1918/ IN/ PERPETUAL / MEMORY/ 1939/ 1945.

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Taken on: June 5, 2021
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with City City Everybody's photos tagged with Embankment Embankment Everybody's photos tagged with Gardens Gardens more » Everybody's photos tagged with London London Everybody's photos tagged with Memorial Memorial Everybody's photos tagged with Statue Statue Everybody's photos tagged with UK UK « less
Sets appears in:   • London 5 June 2021   
Groups appears in:   • Statues Memorials & Monuments    • War Memorials    more » • British War Memorials - WWI and WWII    • REMEMBER THEM    « less
Camera: Nikon D7100, f/9.0, 1/4000 sec, 78mm (=156mm), ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: TAMRON AF 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD B016N
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure Time: 1/4000 sec
Focal Length: 78mm (35mm equivalent: 156mm)
ISO: 1250
Exposure Bias: +1/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Spot
White Balance: Manual
Light Source: Fine Weather
Gain Control: High gain up
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: sRGB
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 10.4 (Macintosh)
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