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Horsham St Faith

The memorial to commemorate those based at RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norfolk, during the Second World War stands near the entrance of Norwich Airport which now occupies the site. The memorial is a 5ft tall block of black Indian granite, triangular in shape, with an angled top and silver inscriptions. On the front face of the block is a text inscription and incised pictures of a Spitfire, a Blenheim, a Mosquito, a Thunderbolt and a Liberator as well as the badges of the RAF and the US Army Air Force. On the sides of the memorial are lists of the squadrons based at RAF Horsham St. Faith during World War II and a poem, and the memorial is flanked by two flagpoles from which the British and American flags can be flown.

In April 2005 War Memorials Trust made an extraordinary retrospective grant of £200 towards the work that had taken place to commission and create the memorial and also to landscape the area in which it stands.

The inscription on the front of the memorial reads

This memorial is dedicated to all those aircrew both
Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force who
served and those who gave their lives in the cause of
freedom whilst operating from this airfield during
World War II 1939 -1945

The squadrons listed on the side of the memorial are

     Royal Air Force
1939               82 Squadron
1939               21 Squadron
1940               66 Squadron
1940               19 Squadron
1940               264 Squadron
1940               114 Squadron
1940 -1942      139 Squadron
1941               110 Squadron
1941               18 Squadron
1941-1942       105 Squadron
1942 – 1943     1444 Ferry 
                     Training Flight
1942               1508 beam approach

     United States
     Army Air Force

1942               319th Bombardment Group
1943               56th Fighter Group
1944               458th Bombardment Group

On the third side of the memorial the inscription reads

Their wings of silver
Touched the passing clouds
Made soft white trails
Across the azure blue
But not for them
This life we share on Earth…
They sacrificed that gift
For me and you

At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

The unveiling of the memorial had taken place on 29th July 2004 and was attended by the Lord Mayor of Norwich and nearly 300 ex-servicemen from the RAF and the US Army Air Force. The ceremony was conducted by Jerry Sather, the chaplain at the US Army Air Force base at Lakenheath, Suffolk, and Steve Lamond, the chaplain at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk. At the conclusion of the ceremony a Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Hurricane performed a low level swoop then landed and taxied past the congregation. The memorial and ceremony were commissioned and organised by one woman, Mrs. Christine Armes, whose late husband served in the RAF.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM1537
UK National Inventory of War Memorials:

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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