Are You One in a Million?
Launched in 2013, the International Bomber Command Centre will be a fitting memorial to the men and women from 60 nations who served with Bomber Command between 1939 and 1945. The site, on Canwick Hill overlooking Lincoln Cathedral and in the heart of ‘Bomber County’, is dominated by a 102-foot tall steel memorial spire and surrounded by matching memorial walls which display the names of the 26,296 air and ground crew lost from Lincolnshire’s 27 bomber bases; they were unveiled in October last year before 312 veterans and 2,300 other guests. The ceremony was graced by the largest gathering of World War II veterans since 1945.
Soon more panels will be installed to bear the names of the Command’s other 29,279 casualties: all 55,573 names will then be publicly commemorated. Meanwhile, the Bomber Command Digital Archive is growing rapidly, the peace gardens are taking shape, and development of the exhibition and education facilities in the visitor complex, the Chadwick Centre, is well under way.
So far IBCC has raised over £5.2 million to cover the memorial, the archive and the exhibition and education projects. However, they are still short of the £3.8 million needed to build the Chadwick Centre itself. A major national fundraising campaign was launched recently, backed by supporters such as Dame Judi Dench, Carol Vorderman, Dan Snow and John Sergeant. Entitled ‘Are You One in a Million?’ it is hoped to inspire one million people - the number of men and women who served in the Command during World War II - to each donate at least £3. This should finish the job, as the Centre will be financially self-sustaining once it’s up and running.
Donating is really easy:
• Enter 70 070 as the telephone number in the ‘To’ line.
• In the text box, enter IBCC01, then a space, then the amount of donation. Eg if £3.00 is the chosen donation, enter IBCC01 (space) 3. Then press ‘send’.
• You will be asked whether you want to Gift Aid the donation. If you do, you will be asked whether you pay tax and then to enter your address and postcode. All information entered will not be shared with 3rd parties.
• Any amount over £10 can be donated via their website: http://www.internationalbcc.co.uk
As Dan Snow, TV historian and IBCC Ambassador, said, “There are few more deserving projects in the UK than the International Bomber Command Centre. Lincolnshire needs a proper memorial to the service personnel who faced appalling conditions as they did their bit to liberate Europe from fascism. There is no other centre in Britain or any other country where the largely neglected history of the bomber offensive can be preserved, gathered, curated, studied and debated. This centre will be a world leader.”
In response to the IBCC’s appeal, your committee decided to contribute £345 of Association funds to IBCC. The amount represents a modest contribution of £1 per member. Additionally, it is hoped that our membership will be motivated to contribute as individuals in the manner described above.
Launched in 2013, the International Bomber Command Centre will be a fitting memorial to the men and women from 60 nations who served with Bomber Command between 1939 and 1945. The site, on Canwick Hill overlooking Lincoln Cathedral and in the heart of ‘Bomber County’, is dominated by a 102-foot tall steel memorial spire and surrounded by matching memorial walls which display the names of the 26,296 air and ground crew lost from Lincolnshire’s 27 bomber bases; they were unveiled in October last year before 312 veterans and 2,300 other guests. The ceremony was graced by the largest gathering of World War II veterans since 1945.
Soon more panels will be installed to bear the names of the Command’s other 29,279 casualties: all 55,573 names will then be publicly commemorated. Meanwhile, the Bomber Command Digital Archive is growing rapidly, the peace gardens are taking shape, and development of the exhibition and education facilities in the visitor complex, the Chadwick Centre, is well under way.
So far IBCC has raised over £5.2 million to cover the memorial, the archive and the exhibition and education projects. However, they are still short of the £3.8 million needed to build the Chadwick Centre itself. A major national fundraising campaign was launched recently, backed by supporters such as Dame Judi Dench, Carol Vorderman, Dan Snow and John Sergeant. Entitled ‘Are You One in a Million?’ it is hoped to inspire one million people - the number of men and women who served in the Command during World War II - to each donate at least £3. This should finish the job, as the Centre will be financially self-sustaining once it’s up and running.
Donating is really easy:
• Enter 70 070 as the telephone number in the ‘To’ line.
• In the text box, enter IBCC01, then a space, then the amount of donation. Eg if £3.00 is the chosen donation, enter IBCC01 (space) 3. Then press ‘send’.
• You will be asked whether you want to Gift Aid the donation. If you do, you will be asked whether you pay tax and then to enter your address and postcode. All information entered will not be shared with 3rd parties.
• Any amount over £10 can be donated via their website: http://www.internationalbcc.co.uk
As Dan Snow, TV historian and IBCC Ambassador, said, “There are few more deserving projects in the UK than the International Bomber Command Centre. Lincolnshire needs a proper memorial to the service personnel who faced appalling conditions as they did their bit to liberate Europe from fascism. There is no other centre in Britain or any other country where the largely neglected history of the bomber offensive can be preserved, gathered, curated, studied and debated. This centre will be a world leader.”
In response to the IBCC’s appeal, your committee decided to contribute £345 of Association funds to IBCC. The amount represents a modest contribution of £1 per member. Additionally, it is hoped that our membership will be motivated to contribute as individuals in the manner described above.
The unveiling of the International Bomber Command Memorial on
Canwick Hill, Lincoln.
