In the cause of freedom

Published: 20 January,2011

• I ACKNOWLEDGE the point about the Royal Air Force having its place at St Clement Danes but the latter is essentially a religious edifice/memorial (RAF already has a memorial, January 14).

The achievements of Bomber Command were for decades ignored, even vilified, by the misguided among us for their deeds in the cause of freedom, as if they were somehow no less “guilty” than those of the aggressors who sought to crush it and enslave the world.  

Such was the luxury of the hindsight provided by their sacrifice… an irony surely not lost on the survivors of that intrepid band. 

Located between St Clement Danes and Piccadilly is Trafalgar Square, a massive monument to another great feat of arms by a service that also has its memorials elsewhere.  

I have no doubt there were objections to its creation in the London of the day, resenting its grandiose design, its gross dimensions, and citing the deleterious effect it would have on the existing city.

For all the controversy over its design, if Bomber Command Association fails to respond to critics then perhaps it is because they feel comfortable with this belated reparation and accept that it will always be impossible to please those who do not share the same point of view.

But that is just my assumption. 

MARK NEWBERRY
Harcourt Street, W1