"At the heart of the International Bomber Command Centre, Canwick, Lincoln, are the Memorial Spire and Walls of Names.
The Spire commands stunning views across Lincoln, with a focus on the City’s ancient Cathedral, which served as a sighting point for crews flying from Lincolnshire. For many of the men named on the accompanying walls, the Cathedral provided their last sight of Britain.
* Officially unveiled October 2015 with an audience of 3,000 including 312 Bomber Command veterans
* Made from Corten A weathering steel – the same as the Angel of the North
* 102ft (31.09m) high, the wingspan of the Avro Lancaster bomber
* 16ft (5m) wide at the base, the width of a Lancaster wing
* The Spire weighs 73 tons and is founded 2m underground
* It is lit at night, creating a focus on the Lincoln skyline
* The Spire was awarded the 2016 Structural Steel Design Award"
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"The Walls of Names remember almost 58,000 men and women who lost their lives serving or supporting Bomber Command during WWII.
The Walls of Names surround the Memorial Spire in a series of circles framing the view of the City and the Cathedral. There are 271 individual panels. Each one is formed from engraved sheets of Corten Weathering Steel.
Every life lost in Bomber Command was equal in sacrifice and as a result the walls do not recognise rank or medals awarded.
The IBCC is the only place in the world where all these losses are commemorated.
* There are 23 walls
* They carry 271 panels of names
* There are about 3/4 million individual characters making up the names
* The names were cut using lasers
* The panels have been cut to allow for poppies to be placed alongside the names
* Each panel is numbered to help locate names
* The names represent the losses from over 45 nations
* The youngest is only 14
* The research behind the names took over 100 volunteers 4 years
* The welcome panel was created from Aluminium from a RCAF Halifax which crashed in 1944. It was donated to the project by the Bomber Command Museum, Nanton, Canada
* Phase 3 which will cover the losses of pre and post war Bomber Command and those from other Bombing Commands based outside of the UK"
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"The Memorial consists of a steel spire 31.09 metres (102 feet) high, which is the exact wing span of a Lancaster bomber. Around the base of the spire are steel walls containing the names of all men and women who died in any capacity of service with Bomber Command. These walls are an ongoing exercise, and names will continue to be added as they are identified"
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A plaque nearby reads -
THE
SPIRE MEMORIAL
The Spire is the UK's tallest war memorial at 31.09m (102ft)
the same as the wingspan of a Lancaster Bomber.
The walls list those who died with Bomber Command during
the war. The inner circle records losses from 1 and 5 Groups.
The outer walls record those killed from other UK-based
bomber Groups.