Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial

War memorial. 1953. Edward Maufe. Portland stone with low pitched slated roof with eaves to single storey enclosures and roofs not visible to centrepieces. Quadrangular plan with quadrant wings extending at rear to left and right. Central entrance through tall, single-storey centrepiece with three capital-less arches, fully glazed in bronze frames, each with three pairs of bronze lions overlaid in relief on the glazing. Doors originally made for the New York Trade Fair, but adapted and presented to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for inclusion at the Air Forces memorial by the Mond Nickel Company. Moulded cornice with words `PER ARDVA AD ASTRA' inscribed on frieze. Eagle with extended wings and crown over to parapet. Low flanking wings projecting on either side with 6-pane windows, and extending to enclose courtyard; their outer walls articulated by narrow vertical strip windows. Inside the single storey wings form an open cloister, with round-headed arches on Ionic columns with simplified capitals. Centrepiece opposite entrance (covered for repairs at time of visit) is taller with a central round-headed arch, much plain walling and five small square windows beneath moulded cornice. Crown finial to roof. Cloisters with coffered, painted ceilings decorated with coats of arms. The engraved north window, and the painted ceilings of the shrine and outlooks are by the artist John Hutton. The rear walls have moulded Portland stone seats with shell decoration, one to each strip window. Window jambs and wall panels carry inscribed names of the fallen. This treatment continues in the quadrant wings.

Formerly listed as the Royal Air Force Memorial.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on the 12/06/2015

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 5 December 2016.