RAF Monument, Plymouth

The Royal Air Force and Allied Air Forces Monument on Plymouth Hoe is erected in memoriam of the brave men and women who served in the Allied Air Forces during the period of 1939-45, both in the air and on the ground, including those of the British Army Air Corps, Fleet Air Arm and the Air Transport Auxilliary.

The monument's main body – a two-stepped base and surmounting square plinth – is made out of granite, and is topped with a 6-foot tall bronze statue of the Unknown Airman, sculpted by Mrs. Pamela Taylor. Three tablets with dedicatory inscriptions are set into the seaward face of the plinth, and one more tablet is at the foot of the steps. The Airman in flying kit is depicted gazing out to sea, holding his parachute in his right hand.

It was the inspiration of Mr. Jim Davis, a former rear gunner on the Lancaster during the Second World War. He and the wartime commander of the Pathfinder Force of Bomber Command, Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett, fought for over nine years to have this monument erected on the Hoe. The ashes of Don Bennett are buried right here, at the base.

RAF Monument is the only international air memorial in the world. Many of the airmen and -women to whom it is dedicated were from the countries which were not directly involved in WWII hostilities. Nationals from as far afield as the Caribbean islands, Iceland and Southern Ireland (Eire) served within the RAF.

The monument was unveiled on September 3rd 1989, marking the 50th Anniversary of the declaration of the Second World War. Among the several hundred veterans who paraded that day were representatives of 17 countries, including the USA, the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, South Africa and Zimbabwe.