Television celebrity Carol Vorderman has unveiled ambitious plans to drop a million poppies from the RAF’s Lancaster Bomber during the official dedication and unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in Central London in June.

Together with RAF veterans from Bomber Command, she also launched an International Poppy Salute Appeal offering members of the public the opportunity to sponsor the poppies that are dropped in silent tribute to salute each of the 55,573 men who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives while serving in Bomber Command. In all, the appeal needs to raise the£1.5 million required to ensure that the memorial is maintained in perpetuity.

“The scale of what they went through for our freedom is something that most of us never even recognise” said Carol; “I believe there is a much greater respect now than there was possibly twenty years ago for those who have served during the wars and this is an opportunity to say thank you.”

The flypast by the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster will end the official minute’s silence at the ceremony to be held in Green Park on the 28^th June and will mark the end of a four year campaign to raise funds to build a permanent memorial to honour the 55,573 airmen who lost their lives in World War II. Designed by architect Liam O’Connor, who previously designed the Armed Forces Memorial in Staffordshire, the Memorial will feature as its centrepiece a nine foot high bronze by sculptor Philip Jackson depicting a seven man bomber crew returning to base after operations.

Joining Carol at the launch event was Lancaster veteran Warrant Officer Harry Irons DFC who flew over 60 bombing missions with Bomber Command and who has waited 67 years for a fitting memorial to lost colleagues. Eyes filling with tears he said; “I’ve lost so many mates. I was on 9 Squadron flying Lancasters out of RAF Waddington and you were lucky if you survived more than four or five trips. I had one close friend who was a rear gunner and he got killed on his fifteenth trip and the pilot brought him back and he was buried in Brixton.”

Now a spritely 88 year old but just 18 when he started his 6 weeks gunnery training before being sent on his first mission to Nuremburg, Harry his full of praise for his mates that didn’t return; “They were all kids of 18 and 19. Everyone should buy a poppy to remember them and Bomber Command, if it wasn’t for Bomber Command, the war wouldn’t have finished when it did.”

Following the ceremony in June, The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund will take over the ownership and future maintenance of the Memorial in perpetuity.

To thank those who gave their lives, sponsor a poppy and visit the Bomber Command Memorial website at www.bombercommand.com/poppysalute

RAF/UK MOD press release