A monument to commemorate air crew from Yorkshire who took part
in the Battle of Britain is to be built in Doncaster.
Organised by the Battle of Britain Historical Society, it will
be based at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum - the former site of WWII RAF
Doncaster.
It is the second of five such memorials planned for sites across
Britain, with one already in London.
The society said it would feature the names of all 105 Yorkshire
air crew who flew in the battle.
Bill Bond, society founder, said: "The fact there were 105
Yorkshire men who flew in the Battle of Britain is an amazing number for one
county.
"No other county in the UK had anywhere near that
number."
The town has strong links to the battle, with 616 Squadron being
based at RAF Doncaster during part of the conflict.
'Bows
and arrows'
Mr Bond said a fundraising campaign was now under way to raise
the £600,000 needed for the monument, with building work hopefully starting in
the new year.
He said building the monument would help educate children on the
battle.
"We did a survey and found that 90% of children did not
know about the Battle of Britain," he said.
"A lot of them thought it was fought with bows and arrows.
"Had the Battle of Britain been lost, we would have lost
the war and those children would probably not be here today."
