How magnificent the new memorial to Bomber Command is.

After decades of being scorned, firstly by Winston Churchill and then by successive governments including the present day one, it has taken the Bomber Command Association’s fund raising capabilities to make this memorial possible. Bomber Command had more losses than any other service and through a number of benefactors and public donations, £7.5 million was raised although a further £1.5 million is needed for its upkeep.

Today’s government are not happy with just a pound of flesh even though they had the whole bodies of these men, they now want the VAT! It was an honour to attend this ceremony of the unveiling of this memorial by HM the Queen and seeing many of the veterans, most of whom were in their late 80s and early 90s and extremely proud of their actions when they were very young men.

The average age of the 55,573 men killed in Bomber Command was 22.

The memorial is of the seven-man crew of a bomber on the Tarmac after alighting from an operation and five of them looking to the skies to see how any of their comrades are returning.

The detail is amazing and should be visited if possible and respect shown for the efforts that these men made in shortening the war, giving their day for our tomorrow.

Shaun McGuire, Mole Close, Newport