BBC show pays tribute to Bomber Command

A humbling show on the BBC tonight paying tribute to the airmen of Bomber Command.

The youngest of the RAF veterans is today 88 years old. Some of them are still in remarkably good nick.

The Portland stone memorial contains the bronze figures of seven airmen who are depicted having just returned from a mission. Their eyes search the sky for other aircraft, aware that some of their comrades will not be coming back.

Veteran shares thoughts on Bomber Command Memorial

A former 49 Squadron wireless operator has told the BBC about his feelings regarding the new Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park.

Ted Cachart, 87, from Heage, was the wireless operator in a Lancaster and was shot down over Germany in 1944.

Mr Cachart joined up in 1941, at the age of 15, after lying about his age.

He wrote a book about his wartime experiences, Ted the Lad, to raise funds for the Bomber Command Memorial.

He said: ‘It is amazing. It is something we have waited so long for and now to see it almost complete is absolutely brilliant.

‘Sixty-seven years is a long time to wait for a memorial but it is going to be worth it, now I've seen it.

‘It will be a true justification to all those who lost their lives, the 55,573 who were killed, absolutely in their honour.’

He added: ‘I do feel bitter it has taken so long. I think all of us in Bomber Command feel as if we have been overlooked and forgotten.

‘But now we are going to be remembered, and remembered for many years to come.’