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    © Imperial War Museums 2026

    Memorial

    Royal Air Force Bomber Command

    East side

    Source: Copyright David Dixon (cc-by-sa/2.0)

    1/9

    Current Location

    Near The Beachy Head pub, Beachy Head Road, Beachy Head, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN20 7YA, England

    OS Grid Reference

    TV 59116 95678

    View location on Google Maps

    Names listed on this memorial

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    © WMR-68934

    To share information or photographs, contact us.

    Type of Memorial
    Stone of remembrance
    WMR Reference Number
    68934
    Description
    Rectangular plinth with a sloping east face and an engraving of a Lancaster bomber. There is the badge of Bomber Command on the vertical north face and the lettering is in black.
    Inscription
    MEMORIAL EAST SIDE INSCRIPTION: WORLD WAR II 1939 TO 1945 / BEACHY HEAD WAS THE MAJOR OPERATIONAL ROUTE OUTBOUND FROM / THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR THE AIRMEN OF ROYAL AIR FORCE / BOMBER COMMAND, WHEN TAKING THE WAR TO THE ENEMY / [Line illustration of an Avro Lancaster aircraft bearing identification codes CF-F2] THEY FOUGHT IN THE SKIES ABOVE THE ENEMY / AND PAID THE TERRIBLE PRICE THAT WAR DEMANDS // MEMORIAL SOUTH SIDE INSCRIPTION: [Line illustration of the official crest of the Royal Air Force] MEMORIAL WEST SIDE INSCRIPTION: WORLD WAR II 1939 TO 1945 / [To the right of a line drawing of an RAF bomber crew member wearing flying kit and holding a parachute pack.] IN TRIBUTE TO THE 110.000 AIRCREW OF THE / ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND / 55.573 GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM / 11,000 BECAME PRISONERS OF WAR / THEY VOLUNTEERED AND CAME IN THEIR THOUSANDS / FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE OCCUPIED COUNTRIES OF EUROPE TO FIGHT / AND DEFEAT A GREAT TYRANNY / FOR MANY, BEACHY HEAD WOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR / LAST SIGHT OF ENGLAND / REMEMBER THEM // MEMORIAL NORTH SIDE INSCRIPTION: [Line illustration of the official crest of Royal Air Force Bomber Command. Below which is attached a metal plaque that reads:{ BOMBER COMMAND TRIBUTE MEMORIAL BEACHY HEAD / UNVEILED BY HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S REPRESENTATIVE / THE LORD LIEUTENANT OF EAST SUSSEX, PETER FIELD ON 8TH JULY 2012. ORIGINAL CONCEPT OF MEMORIAL AND COMMITTEE FOUNDER, / WARRANT OFFICER JOE WILLIAMS, / 625 SQUADRON, BOMBER COMMAND, ROYAL AIR FORCE, 1944-46. / WITH THE SUPPORT AND APPROVAL OF EASTBOURNE COUNCIL AND ITS OFFICERS, / SOUTH DOWNS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY AND NATURAL ENGLAND. / IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE PLACEMENT OF THIS MEMORIAL, THE BOMBER COMMAND TRIBUTE / BEACHY HEAD COMMITTEE CONVENED ON THE 13 JUNE 2010. / IT’S [sic] MEMBERS WERE: CAPTAIN CLINTON WILLIAMS PRESIDENT & CO FOUNDER / MR. JOE WILLIAMS CHAIRMAN & FOUNDER / ASSISTED BY MRS. MAXINE BRENNAN / MRS. JEAN ADAMS CO FOUNDER / ASSISTED BY MR. MICK ADAMS / SQN LDR REG HOLDSTOCK RAFVR(T) CO FOUNDER / ASSISTED BY MRS. WENDY HOLDSTOCK / DR. VIVIENNE WILLIAMS CO FOUNDER / MR. NIC LEWIS CO FOUNDER / MRS. CAROLYN POPE CO FOUNDER / THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTARILY CONTRIBUTED THEIR TIME AND TO THOSE THROUGHOUT / THE WORLD, WHO DONATED FUNDS TO MAKE THIS PROJECT A REALITY. WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO: / DOWNLAND OFFICER MR. MIKE SMITH, FOR HIS CONSTANT HELP. OC 18 SQN, ROYAL AIR FORCE, FOR PROVIDING A CHINOOK HELICOPTER / TO LIFT THE MEMORIAL INTO POSITION ON THE 26TH JUNE 2012. GGR GROUP LTD., WHO PROVIDED A SPECIALIST SPIDER CRANE / TO LIFT THE MEMORIAL INTO ITS FINAL POSITION, MR VINCE ORCHARD OF ORCHARD MEMORIALS AND THE THOMAS GROUP, / FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE MEMORIAL. MR. RAY DODD FOR CAD AND MR. DANIEL LOVEDAY FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN. //
    War
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Maintenance History
    2025: letters are missing, and potential damage from algae and seagull droppings

    Components

    Stone of remembrance

    Made from: Stone


    Condition: Poor


    • East face Geograph - www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3076693 - accessed 1 May 2020
    • West face Geograph - www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3076694 - accessed 1 May 2020
    • North face Geograph - www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5516642- accessed 1 May 2020
    • www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/196276
    • www.geograph.org.uk/stuff/list.php?title=RAF+Bomber+Command+Memorial%2C+Beachy+Head+&gridref=TV5995