Bomber County

During WW2 Lincolnshire became known as Bomber County as so many bombing sorties were flown from RAF stations in the county.  About twenty years ago the (then) Lord Lieutenant felt that there ought to be a memorial in Lincolnshire to the courage of the RAF personnel who served here.  The International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln is his lasting legacy.  

I've wanted to visit the memorial since it opened in 2017 but never got around to it but yesterday was the day.  I went with a women's group and we had a tour of the site.  I've no doubt that I'll be writing more about the centre but I wanted to share a few photos.  Some are mine, some from other sources where I would not be able to do the subject justice.  

The memorial stands on a hillside overlooking the city of Lincoln.  Lincoln’s Cathedral provided a landmark for crews both leaving and returning from missions and, for those who failed to return, the Cathedral was often their last image of home.  I wanted to show a view of the city and of some of the memorial poppies.  

This photograph isn't mine but was taken from the air.  The aircraft outlined is a Lancaster bomber, used extensively from the county's airfield's during the war.  The red bits are ceramic poppies.

The dominant feature of the memorial is the spire.  It is surrounded by walls engraved with the names of the almost 58,000 men and women who lost their lives serving in or supporting Bomber Command.