Memorial details
- Memorial type
- Composite
- District
- Swale
- Town
- Eastchurch
- County
- Kent
- Country
- England
- Commemoration
- Regimental Memorials
- Ceremony
- Unveiled
Date: 25 July 1955
Attended by: LORD TEDDER - Rededicated
Date: 25 July 2005
Attended by: Former Service Personnel - Dedicated
Date: 25 July 1955
Attended by: UNKNOWN - Show More (2)
- Unveiled
- Lost
- Not lost
- WM Reference
- 63480
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Current location
Opposite the All Saints Church.
Village Centre
Church Road
Eastchurch
Swale
Kent
ME12 4EH
England
OS Grid Ref: TQ 98835 71382
Denomination: Undefined
- Description
- Figure of Zeus supported by plinth with wall. Plinth with projecting centre with dedication and recessed sides with names. Incised aircraft depicted below dedication. Wall depicting relief of eighteen early aircrafts in flight extends from rear of plinth. Whole set in paved area.
- Inscription
- Centre plinth: THIS MEMORIAL/ COMMEMORATES/ THE FIRST HOME OF/ BRITISH AVIATION/ 1909/ NEAR THIS SPOT AT/ LEYSDOWN EASTCHURCH/ Mussel Manor Stonepits Farm/ FLIGHTS AND EXPERIMENTS WERE/ MADE BY MEMBERS OF THE AERO/ CLUB (later ROYAL) OF GREAT BRITAIN/ Also THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE/ FIRST AIRCRAFT FACTORY IN GREAT/ BRITAIN BY SHORT BROTHERS 1909/ And THE FORMATION OF THE FIRST/ ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE STATION/ 1911 Left: AVIATORS/ (NAMES)/ AND OTHERS Right: DESIGNERS AND/ CONSTRUCTORS/ (NAMES)/ AND THE CRAFSTMEN/ OF SHEPPEY/ ROYAL NAVAL/ AIR SERVICE/ (NAMES)/ AND TWELVE RN/ TECHNICAL RATINGS
- Inscription legible?
- yes
- Commemorations
- Regimental Memorials
Total names on memorial: 4
Served and returned: 4
Died: 0
Exact count: yes
Information shown: surname,rank,regiment
Order of information: regiment,rank
- Regimental Memorials
- Components
- Figure
Measurements: Undefined
Materials: Unknown - Plinth
Measurements: Undefined
Materials: Unknown - Wall
Measurements: Undefined
Materials: Unknown
- Figure
- Listing information
- Memorial to 'The Home of Aviation'
- Grade II*
- This memorial is protected, and listed on the National Heritage List for England maintained by Historic England. View list entry
- More about listing and the protection of historic places can be found on the Historic England website
- Condition
- Pioneers of British Aviation
- WMO ID: 167447
- Condition: Good [last updated on 17-06-2020]
- Help update these details if the condition is wrong
- Costs
Comments: Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Brabazon of Tara (formerly J T C Moore-Brabazon) and Hugh Oswald Short served as patrons for the memorial. They issued a call for support of the idea in a letter to The Times in 1950 (see references). Later Sir Francis McClean also became a patron.
- Trust fund/Scholarship
- No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A - Sponsorship
- Private,public
- Responsibility
- Swale Borough Council and Eastchurch Parish Council
- Reference
- Other website www.eastchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/default.cfm?pid=2892&act=disp
- Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastchurch_Sheppey_9216.JPG
- The Times 4/ 26 July 1955 Coverage of unveiling ceremony
- Geograph www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1404737
- The Times 5/ 11 February 1950 Appeal for contributions made by the patrons of the memorial, Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Brabazon of Tara and Hugh Oswald Short.
This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.
This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.
This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:
© WMR-63480
For queries, please contact [email protected].