We had long wanted to visit the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone in Kent. The Memorial takes the form of a propeller, with its blades set into the grounds and the boss of the propeller surrounded by the badges of all the Allied squadrons and other units that took part in the Battle. In the centre of the boss, is a statue of a seated airman looking out to sea, entitled 'The National Memorial to the Few' which is dedicated to the heroic and selfless deeds of the men who won the Battle of Britain from 10th July to 31st October 1940. Behind the statue is 'The Wing' which is the Visitor Centre for the Memorial and was built in the shape of a Spitfire's elliptical wings.

Also on site is a Memorial Wall in tribute to the late Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Foxley-Norris, a Hurricane fighter pilot in 1940. He was the first President of the Trust and he and his wife provided the funds that allowed the wall to go ahead. The wall contains the names of all those aircrew known to have flown at least one sortie with an accredited squadron or unit of the RAF during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The names includes those who survived the war and, in some cases, only left us in recent years.

To the side of the central Memorial are replicas of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk1 and a Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, both marques of which flew in the Battle of Britain.

Also on site is a stainless steel sculpture of a Junkers JU87B Stuka and the South Kent College Wall, a tribute designed by staff and built by brickwork students at South Kent College.

This is BoB, the Squadron Dog, which doubles as a collection box and a 1940s 'scramble bell' used at RAF airfields.

On the left, Lord Dowding who, as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, led RAF Fighter Command throughout the Battle of Britain in 1940 and on the right, Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, who commanded No 11 Group of the RAF Fighter Command, the squadrons that bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain, who has been credited as one of the men whose leadership and vision helped to deny the Luftwaffe victory.

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