Mark, who served as a Territorial Army Infantry Officer during the Cold War, felt it was important to attend the unveiling of the memorial, which pays tribute to the 55,000 airman of Bomber Command, who lost their lives in the flight against Nazi Germany in WWII.
As part of the ceremony, Mark also witnessed a flypast by five Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft and also by a Lancaster Bomber, the ‘City of Lincoln’, which forms part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and which flew over Green Park and dropped poppies as part of the remembrance element of the proceedings.
Commenting on the new memorial and the unveiling ceremony, Mark Francois said:
“For too long the men of Bomber Command, so many of whom died to ensure that we could be free, have not been properly recognised. The unveiling of this memorial goes some way to repaying that great debt that we owe to these brave men and so I was pleased to attend this ceremony to represent my constituents. There was a particularly poignant moment when the Lancaster flew over Green Park and the television cameras panned across the faces of the Bomber Command veterans, all of which seemed to light up as the old aircraft flew by. These men are living testament to the fact that we should never take our freedom in this country for granted and we should remember the sacrifices that were made so that we can maintain it.”