Royal Air Force Memorial - The Embankment, London, UK
N 51° 30.240 W 000° 07.386
30U E 699657 N 5709798
A combined memorial for The Royal Air Service, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force and Air Forces from the British Empire that is generally referred to as the Royal Air Force Memorial.
Waymark Code: WMC8F2
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/08/2011
Views: 21
The Royal Air Force Memorial is a 1923 military memorial on Victoria Embankment in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I (and, by extension, all subsequent conflicts). It is sited near Cleopatra's Needle, between the north-bank ends of Charing Cross Bridge and Westminster Bridge, and directly to the east of the main Ministry of Defence building on Whitehall. It was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, and William Reid Dick sculpted the eagle on top (drawn from the RAF's badge).
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The RAF Memorial, Per Ardua Ad Astra - Per Adua Ad Astra, Victoria Embankment, London.
Per ardua ad astra, latin for 'Through Struggles to the Stars' and is the motto of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and some other Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth air forces such as the Royal Australian Air Forcs - RAAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force - RNZAF, and the former Royal Canadian Air Force - RCAF.
The motto; Per ardua ad astra dates from 1912 and was used by the then newly formed Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner to the Royal Air Force.
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The memorial is about 12 metres (40 feet) high. Of that, about 10 metres is a Portland stone plinth that is topped by a golden eagle cast from bronze.
The inscription, on the inshore side of the monumnet, reads:
"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 / I bare you on eagles / wings and brought / you unto / myself".
Above this inscription is the motto "Per Ardua".
At the lower part of the plinth is added:
"This inscription is added / in remembrance of those / men and women of / the British Commonwealth and Empire / who gave their lives / 1939 - 1945".