Fleet Air Arm Remembrance

The National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) at Alrewas in Staffordshire, comprising 150 acres of trees and over 250 individual memorials, is a spiritually uplifting place that honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice and helps to foster pride in our country. It is the home of the Armed Forces Memorial (AFM) which was dedicated in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen on 12 October 2007. The AFM is engraved with the names of all those who have given their lives in the service of their country since the Second World War. On 15 June 2014, the Naval Service memorial was unveiled by Prince Michael of Kent at the NMA.

The Fleet Air Arm Memorial was dedicated 11 September 2009 in the presence of Rear Admiral Simon Charlier, Chief of Staff Aviation and Carriers.

The memorial was enhanced in July 2012 by the addition of a Portland stone surround (see bottom three images). It consists of a raised line of 600mm x 300mm stones  which FAA squadrons, associations, Royal Naval air stations and ships may engrave with a crest and wording. Guidelines and an application form are available in the downloads section.

Every year on Remembrance Sunday, the associations in the Fleet Air Arm Federation march as one body past The Cenotaph in Whitehall.

After WWII, Lee-on-Solent was selected as the site for the Fleet Air Arm Memorial as it was the location of the large Naval Air Station HMS Daedelus. It is one of the lesser known Memorials in the UK, but remembers 1,925 men of the Fleet Air Arm who have no known grave, most of them having been lost at sea. The memorial is on Marine Parade West. It was unveiled on 20 May 1953 by the Duchess of Kent. The memorial was constructed by the Imperial War Graves Commission.

The Telegraphist Air Gunners Association holds an annual service at the memorial in May each year.

The Fleet Air Arm memorial designed by James Butler RA, was unveiled on the 1st of June 2000 by his Royal Highness The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM. It is located in Victoria Embankment Gardens between the River Thames and the MOD Main Building.

For those not able to march past the Cenotaph, the FAAOA hold  an alternative act of Remembrance at 11.00 on Remembrance Sunday. After the main march past, all the associations of the Fleet Air Arm Federation gather at this memorial to lay wreaths.

The Fleet Air Arm Memorial Church is open to the public Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 1330 - 1545 and for family Eucharist on Sundays at 10.30. The Naval cemetery is open every day from sunrise to sunset. However, on occasions the church may be closed without prior notice. It is located at Yeovilton near the Museum.

If you are making a special visit, you are advised to telephone in advance to avoid disappointment. Tel: 01935 455257 or 01935 841471 or visit St Barts website.

The Church is home to the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour. It houses a plaque to the Palembang nine. The inscription reads:
Royal Navy, British Pacific Fleet, Fleet Air Arm. In memory of (NAMES) Their aircraft were shot down during attacks on oil refineries at Palembang, Sumatra in January 1945. They were imprisoned at Changi gaol, Singapore and executed by their Japanese captors at the war's end in August 1945. "None of us should forget"

The Channel Dash Association unveiled and dedicated a Memorial Monument to 825 Naval Air Squadron at Ramsgate on Friday 12 February 2010.

On Saturday the 22^nd of September 2012 in Dover harbour, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope the First Sea Lord unveiled a permanent memorial to those from all 3 services that took part in Operation Fuller (The Channel Dash) on 12^th February 1942. The ceremony ended with the poignant flypast of a Swordfish from the Royal Navy Historic Flight recognising the significant contribution and sacrifice by the crews of Lee on Solent based 825 Naval Air Squadron.

The building of the memorial was organised by the Channel Dash Memorial Trust. There is a video on you-tube with highlights from the unveiling.

RNAS Culdrose Memorial Garden is positioned beside the main gate. It is an area of quiet contemplation and remembrance for all and contains the memorial stone to the seven members of 849NAS who died on 22 March 2003 during Op Telic in Iraq.

From 1962 to 1966 Commando helicopter squadrons, were sent to Borneo as part of a Royal Navy taskforce to support the Malaysian government during their confrontation with Indonesia. The daring flying in support of the soldiers fighting in the jungle earned the commando squadron pilots the nickname “Junglies”.

Sixteen Junglies were killed during the action, and a memorial at Nanga Gaat, Kapit District was erected to honour them.

The memorial was commissioned in 1965 by Neil Burns Thomson an ex pilot from the 1962 conflict. He returned for the first time since 1965 and played a vital part in the service of remembrance conducted on 10 March 12013.