Battle of Britain Memorial
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A memorial outside Folkestone, Kent, Great Britain, commemorating all those who fought on the British side in the legendary WWII Battle of Britain against the German Luftwaffe in 1940.
>Combinations with other dark destinations
More background info: for historical information about the Battle of Britain please see the background section of the Battle of Britain Bunker chapter.
The memorial was originally conceived by one Geoffrey Page, who was one of “the Few” (a reference to Churchill’s famous quote that “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”), i.e. a veteran RAF fighter pilot from the Battle of Britain. He was shot down twice in the course of WWII but survived, though badly injured, requiring plastic surgery. When many years later he learned that there was no memorial to “the Few”, he instigated promoting the idea and fundraising began.
The memorial was finally inaugurated in 1993, and officially opened by the Queen Mother. The “Scramble Experience” in “The Wing” building is a later addition (see below).
The location for the memorial was chosen because of its military history even before WWII, as it was a site where airships were moored during WW1, later a coastal battery and military hospital were installed here. The section of the English Channel off Folkestone and nearby Dover was a key area of the air battle of 1940 that became known as “Hellfire Corner”.
What there is to see: This is in a way actually two sites – the memorial proper out in the open air, plus an indoor “immersive” exhibition called the “Scramble Experience” (see below).
The latter is housed in the eastern half of the building that also serves as a visitor centre and learning facility. This building is called “The Wing” (its shape vaguely resembles the contours of a Spitfire fighter plane wing). In the foyer is a large museum shop and a few exhibits such as an original Spitfire engine, some plane models as well as a scale model of the whole memorial complex.
The real-thing open-air memorial complex is accessed through a glass door from the visitor centre (though you can also get there via other routes). In the centre is a sculpture of a seated pilot looking out to sea, sitting on a circular plinth adorned with squadron insignia. The sculpture has been placed in the centre of a landscaped garden/lawn with patterns that are supposed to represent the shape of a giant Spitfire propeller. At ground level you can’t really see it that well – it’s best appreciated from the air, really, but flying drones is prohibited here. So the best approximation is to be had by going to the upstairs museum café and on to the attached large balcony/viewing platform.
The giant propeller is surrounded by grass-covered dykes of sorts, two grassy mounds and hollows that are the remains of heavy coastal gun emplacements (see above), and at the far end the area reaches to the cliffs and the North Downs Way coastal hiking trail.
Closer to “The Wing” building is a memorial wall of names (listing all of the ca. 3000 airmen who fought with the RAF in the Battle of Britain) plus a few more memorial monuments, including busts of Air Chief Marshals Keith Park and Hugh Dowding (father of the “Dowding System” – see under Battle of Britain Bunker!). Endearingly there’s also a sculpture of a dog, “B.O.B.”, the “Squadron Dog” (presumably standing for the mascot pets that were not uncommon in the military during WWII).
Furthermore there are replicas of a Hawker Hurricane and a Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane, the two main aircraft types used by the RAF in the Battle of Britain. On the lawn behind these is yet another plane replica, or rather a sculpture in stainless steel, in the shape of a crashed German Junkers Ju-87 “Stuka” dive bomber. This rather stark work of art is entitled “Down.Two.Earth”and is the creation of a German (!!) sculptor and was added to the memorial in March 2020.
A low wall between the memorial complex and the approach to the car park bears the famous Winston Churchill quote “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. Finally there is also a simple brick monument by the car park that bears the round blue, white and red RAF logo and the simple inscription “1940”, the year that the Battle of Britain took place.
The indoor exhibition, the “Scramble Experience”, in the eastern part of “The Wing” building is accessed in time slots (after you’ve paid the admission fee). Fortunately I didn’t have to wait too long before it was my turn to go in.
This immersive exhibition is indeed quite interactive and “showy”. In addition to various backlit text-and-photo panels about the different stages of the Battle of Britain, the airmen and the ground crews, there are also video screens with vintage footage and veterans’ testimonies. There are also audio stations where you can pick up a receiver and listen to some narration. Featured too is an interactive media table with simulations of scrambles and approaches. At one point you can try to learn to recognize different types of planes. Among some hands-on exhibits (for the kids) is also a flight simulator, not a real one but rather a video game where you can try to control a Hawker Hurricane fighter and shoot down German Messerschmitt Bf-109s. In the back is a mock-up of an airfield hut in which you can try on period uniforms and hats.
The “Experience” part consists primarily of a video show that at one point suddenly starts and demands attention. It is projected on to a large wall while other lights in the hall are dimmed (including the backlit text panels, so you can’t keep on reading while the show is under way). The video shows mostly animations of air battles but also a few actors on the ground. The whole thing is accompanied by a very loud soundtrack with plane and battle noises. The kids who were there seemed to love it … I found it just a tad cheesy …
All in all, it’s definitely a site worth visiting, especially of course for WWII history buffs. As so often with such sites in Britain (big exception: IWM North), I found the narrative a little too much on the glorifying side, but that’s probably to be expected given the topic. However, for me all that hero-worshipping is a bit disconcerting. Still, it’s a significant site with some unusual designs.
Location: on New Dover Road (postcode: CT18 7JJ) just to the north-east of Folkestone, Kent, on the western edge of the village Capel-le-Ferne.
Google Maps locator: [51.0989, 1.2057]
Access and costs: not too difficult to get to; the memorial parts are free, the exhibition costs an adequate admission fee.
Details: Getting to the memorial is easiest by car, though there’s also a bus (line 104) that goes from just outside the main train station in Folkestone to just across the road from the memorial. Coming by car (most likely) from the west, get off the M20 motorway where it becomes the A20 and proceed east on Churchill Avenue (A259). At the roundabout at the end of Churchill Avenue take the second exit and continue on the A260. At the next big roundabout leave the A260 (second exit) and continue on Dover Hill (B2011), which becomes New Dover Road and takes you straight to the memorial. It’s also well signposted.
There is a sufficiently large car park at the memorial. It’s a pay-and-display car park and the charge for up to two hours is merely 2 GBP (and that gives you ample time).
Admission to the memorial is free, but for access to the “Scramble Experience” in “The Wing” a fee of 7.50 GBP is charged. Tickets remain valid for a whole week, in case you want to split your visit into two (or more).
Opening times: the memorial’s open-air parts are freely accessible every day year round; but the visitor centre, cafe and “Scramble Experience” have more restricted opening times: from March to September daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission 4:30); the rest of the year it closes at 4 p.m. (last admission 3:30); and between mid-November and the end of February the indoor parts are closed on Mondays.
Free audio guides are available too (in English, German, Dutch, French, Czech, Polish and Slovakian), but they are not strictly necessary, unless you enjoy additional stories being told (regular running time is ca. 1 hour, but there are also two shorter versions available at 15 or 35 minutes, respectively).
Inside the “Scramble Experience” a no photography rule is in place.
Time required: depending a bit on in how much depth you want to go at the interactive and audio stations, between one and two hours.
Combinations with other dark destinations: Folkestone itself has a couple of memorials too, including a modest one for the RAF aircrews and a more lavish affair involving a tall steel arch commemorating WW1. When I visited the memorials there was a flood of knitted (or crocheted) red poppies attached to a low fence!
Just to the west of Folkestone, in the village of Hythe, is St Leonard’s Church (postcode CT21 5DN) which features an ossuary in the crypt that houses the skeletal remains of some 4000 people, including about a thousand skulls. It’s open only seasonally (ca. Easter to late summer) and times are restricted: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.; Sundays only 2 to 4 p.m.; a small admission fee is charged. I had actually planned to visit this crypt, but when I got there, during the advertised opening times, I found the church’s own car park closed and nowhere in the walkable vicinity was I able to find an off-street parking space. So I had to give up.
Further along the coast is Dungeness, a shingle promontory jutting into the English Channel that features the unlikely juxtaposition of a sleepy coastal community with cottages, two pubs, a seafood shack and an impressive black lighthouse with the dramatic hulk of an old nuclear power station (also called Dungeness NPP). When I was there I tried to pop into the visitor centre that was advertised on information panels near the lighthouse; but when I got there two (not exactly overworked) staff at the reception desk informed me that the visitor centre hadn’t been open in years. That’s because the whole site is actually undergoing decommissioning and will in due course be dismantled (but, as usual with NPPs, that could still take many years if not decades to complete).
See also under Great Britain in general.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: The Battle of Britain Memorial sits right by the white chalk sea cliffs that nearby Dover is more famous for, and the North Downs Way coastal hiking trail runs right past the memorial.
Folkestone used to be one of the most fashionable seaside resorts (especially for the aristocracy) in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. But with the advent of foreign travel, its attractiveness as a holiday destination declined dramatically. A former ferry service to France was also discontinued in 2001. On the other hand, the opening of the British Eurotunnel terminal just north of Folkestone brought new overnighting visitors. Some parts of the city centre have seen a revival in recent times, not only the refurbished clifftop promenade known as “The Leas” but also eastern part of the city centre, called the Creative Quarter, with a plethora of little independent shops, galleries, cafes, restaurants and bars as well as event venues and lots of large-scale street art to see.
See also under Great Britain in general.
