The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial Runnymeade

The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial Runnymeade

Description of inscription at the entrance portico and history of the memorial.

Four page printed card with ribbon

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

MDaviesJR1536941-160428-020001

[Royal Air Force Crest]
[a tied cloth bow in R.A.F. colours]
THE COMMONWEALTH
AIR FORCES MEMORIAL
RUNNYMEDE

The Memorial was unveiled by
Her Majesty the Queen on 17th October, 1953
[page break]
On each side of the entrance portico
to the Memorial are inscribed these words:
IN THIS CLOISTER ARE RECORDED
THE NAMES OF TWENTY THOUSAND
AIRMEN WHO HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE
THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM IN RAID
AND SORTIE OVER THE BRITISH ISLES
AND THE LANDS AND SEAS OF
NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE
The Memorial was built by the Imperial War
Graves Commission and consists of a cloister open
to and surrounding a central lawn on which is set
a Stone of Remembrance carved with the words
“THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE”
[page break]
The principal features of the Shrine are the
painted vaulted ceiling and an engraved glass
window. The latter depicts two angels holding
a scroll on which appears the following wording
from Psalm 139:
“If I climb into Heaven, Thou art there:
If I go down to Hell, thou art there also.
If I take the wings of the morning and remain
In the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there also shall Thy hand lead me:
And Thy right hand shall hold me.”