Veterans’ joy as Bomber Command memorial gets the go-ahead in Green Park - WWII RAF tribute approved

Published: 21 May 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

PLANNERS have defied a chorus of criticism to give the go-ahead for a giant memorial in Green Park to thousands of airmen of the Bomber Command who lost their lives in the Second World War.

The £3.5million monument will stretch more than 80 metres when it is erected close to Hyde Park Corner.

Numerous high-profile figures backed the RAF-led scheme, including the new Prime Minister David Cameron, Tory peer Lord Ashcroft and Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb.

Opposition to the plans had been growing in the run-up to Thursday’s planning committee meeting in Victoria, with the prestigious Thorney Island Society leading the resistance over claims it would cause irreparable damage to the park.

The society, which is based in St James and headed by musician Jools Holland, told planning officials Green Park was a “wholly inappropriate” location for such a large monument. It claimed the committee had been swayed by a “political” campaign. Dozens of veterans packed into Westminster City Hall to hear the decision.

Councillor Alastair Moss, chairman of the planning applications sub-committee, said the memorial would be a “fitting tribute” to the 55,573 bomber airmen who died during the war.

“It is a sign of this country’s gratitude to these exceptional people who were brave enough to fight for us, and it will stand as an iconic London monument, marking how good came to triumph over evil, for many generations to come,” he added.

His words were echoed by the president of the Bomber Command Association and Marshal of the RAF, Sir Michael Beetham, who said: “It is the news we have been waiting for for so long and at last we will be able to recognise the sacrifice made by so many men.”

Under the agreement, 25 trees will be planted in place of the nine that will have to be uprooted to accommodate the memorial. It will be made from Portland stone and will feature an inscription from Winston Churchill.

Juliet Lyle, a member of the Thorney Island Soc­iety, said: “It was very difficult to hear the arguments because there was so much emotional weight attached to the application and it’s very difficult to argue against a war veteran! What we were saying is that it’s too big for Green Park.”