Battle of Britain Memorial

Over het museum

The memorial at Capel-le-Ferne on the White Cliffs of Kent exists thanks to Wing Commander Geoffrey Page, a Hurricane pilot who was badly burned when shot down on 12 August 1940. After the war he was struck that there was no national memorial to the aircrew who had fought beside him in the Battle of Britain, and he led the campaign to build one. The clifftop had already seen military use as an airship mooring site in the First World War and as the site of a gun battery in 1941 and 1942.

The National Memorial was opened on 9 July 1993 by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Its centre is a statue of a seated airman gazing across the Channel, set on a propeller-shaped base surrounded by the badges of the squadrons that took part. The Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall carries the names of almost 3,000 aircrew, and full-size replicas of a Hurricane and a Spitfire stand in the grounds. Busts of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park and Lord Dowding were added in 2010 and 2017.

The Wing visitor centre, shaped like a Spitfire wing, opened in 2015 and holds the Scramble Experience, a film and hands-on displays about the summer of 1940, as well as a cafe with a balcony facing France. Its classroom area, the Geoffrey Page Centre, is used for school groups. The site is run by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, a charity.

Hoogtepunten

• Statue of a seated airman on a propeller-shaped base
• Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall with almost 3,000 names
• Full-size replica Spitfire and Hurricane
• Scramble Experience: film, interactive displays and a mock-up fighter cockpit
• Cockpit Cafe with a balcony overlooking the Channel
• Free self-guided audio tours in seven languages

Vaste collectie

• The Scramble Experience – An immersive film with hands-on activities and interactive displays about the summer of 1940, housed in the Wing visitor centre.
• Replica aircraft – Full-size replica fighters, including a Spitfire and a Hurricane, stand in the memorial grounds.
• The Wall – The Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall carries the names of almost 3,000 aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain.

Opgericht

1993

Beheerder

Battle of Britain Memorial Trust

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Entry to the memorial grounds, the shop and the Cockpit Cafe is free; the charge covers the Wing with the Scramble Experience. Friends of the Few at Hurricane level enter free.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The Trust describes the site as fully accessible; there are some slopes, and helpers may be needed for manual wheelchairs. The Scramble Experience has step-free access and space for wheelchair users, and a lift serves the first-floor cafe. Accessible toilets are inside the Wing (a cafe purchase is needed to use the toilets). Designated accessible parking is near the entrance. Only assistance dogs are allowed inside the Wing.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte

There is a worksheet for young children and a family trail, and a guide for young people is sold in the shop. Children can take part in hands-on displays and "take control" in a mock-up fighter aircraft in the Scramble Experience, and they can see the replica Spitfire and Hurricane outdoors. The site is on a clifftop, so children must be watched closely.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The memorial is on the B2011 at Capel-le-Ferne, between Folkestone and Dover. From the M20 leave at junction 13 and follow signs for the B2011; from the A2 join the A20 westbound at Dover. Sat-nav postcode CT18 7JJ; what3words for the visitor centre: defends.agency.tributes.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Restaurant: niet aanwezig
• Museumwinkel

The Cockpit Cafe on the first floor of the Wing sells hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, paninis, snacks, cakes, cream teas, beer and wine and a little hot food; entry to the cafe is free. The souvenir shop is in the Wing. Toilets and baby changing are inside the Wing. Dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Zakelijke evenementen

The classroom area in the Wing, called the Geoffrey Page Centre, can be hired by businesses when schools are not using it.

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