"Defender of London" - Sir Keith Park GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, RAF.
Posted by: MeerRescue
N 51° 05.932 E 001° 12.363
31U E 374391 N 5662349
A bronze bust of Sir Keith Park GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, RAF (1892 - 1975) on display at The Battle of Britain Memorial, Caple le Ferne, Kent, CT18 7JJ.
Waymark Code: WMEF3R
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/20/2012
Views: 8
A life-and-a-half size bronze bust of
"The Defender of London", Air Chief Marshall Sir
Keith Rodney Park GCB, KBE, MC and Bar, DFC. Made on commission of The Battle of
Britain Memorial Trust by the artist Will Davies, it sits on
a tall plinth alongside the memorial wall at the magnificent battle of Britain
Memorial at Capel le Ferne, Kent. It was unveiled on October 28th 2010 by HRH the
Duchess of Cornwall.
Sir Keith Park was a New Zealand
soldier, WW1 flying ace and a WW2 RAF Commander. He was the operational
commander of the RAF's Fighter Command No.11 Group, which took the fight to the
German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.
From the wiki link for Sir
Keith Park:
Promoted to the rank of air vice marshal, Park
took command of No. 11 Group RAF,
responsible for the fighter defence of London and southeast England, in April
1940. He organized fighter
patrols over France during the Dunkirk evacuation
and in the Battle of Britain his
command took the brunt of the air
attacks. Flying his personalised Hawker
Hurricane around his fighter
airfields during the battle, Park gained a reputation as a shrewd tactician with
an astute grasp of strategic issues and as a popular "hands-on" commander.
However, he became embroiled in an acrimonious dispute with ambitious Air Vice
Marshal Trafford Leigh Mallory,
commander of 12 Group. Leigh Mallory,
already envious of Park for leading the key 11 Group while 12 Group was left to
defend airfields, repeatedly failed to support 11 Group and his Big
Wing (led by Douglas
Bader) often ran amok through 11 Group airspace confusing the UK's defences. 10
Group in the South West under Quintin
Brand successfully supported 11 Group
when required despite having far more arduous defensive duties in its own area
than 12 Group. Park's subsequent objection to Leigh-Mallory's behaviour during
the Big Wing controversy may have contributed to his and Dowding's removal from
command at the end of the battle, but neither Park nor Dowding had much time for
internal politics and fell easy prey to their waiting critics. Richard Saul of
13 Group on the other hand, wrote to Park on learning of his pending departure
from 11 Group, commenting on "the magnificent achievements of your group in the
past six months; they have borne the brunt of the war, and undoubtedly saved
England". Park was to remain
indignant however over his and Dowding's treatment for the rest of his life.
Park was posted immediately to Training Command before
seeing later high ranking service in The Mediterranean and elsewhere, while
Dowding was sent to America.
Park's No. 11 group RAF were
coordinated by fighter controllers in the No. 11 Group Operations Room in the
underground bunker, now known as the Battle
of Britain Bunker at RAF
Uxbridge. Park himself was not based in the bunker but did visit to
impart his wisdom at numerous key points during the battle, along with visits
from the Royal Family and Winston
Churchill. Among the many air battles fought over Britain, Park personally
commanded RAF forces on several important dates; 13 August (Adlertag), 18 August
(The Hardest Day) and the 15 September (Battle of Britain).