The Analysis of the Memorial to the Few

THE ANALYSIS OF THE MEMORIAL TO THE FEW

EXAMPLE OF CORRECTION

The Memorial to the Few is first located near Dover and the English Channel Coast of which sky was the battlefield of the Battle of Britain.

To honour the memory of the dead pilots & veterans, we’ll analyse the architectural design of the Memorial.

Near the beach, a large green area has a propeller shape. At its center, a statuewas built on a circular pedestal with 3 stairs. A man remains seated, holding his knees. He wears a flight jacket and seems young: he has no wrinkles sculpted. He’s gazing at the sky with no fear, courage and equanimity (= internal serenity) even if the fight can end with death. Such sacrifice is remembered thanks to the Memorial Wall.

Made of 14 black marble panels, the names of “the Few” are listed in white which highlights them. An official ceremony is made on the Remembrance Day with the reunion of the veterans and one of them is the standard bearer who stands next to the statue with the RAF flag. But the Memorial is not just a clear place (= endroit serein) to remember the past. It’s also a learning center.

It has a Spitfire shape which was one of the most used war planes during the Battle of Britain & the Blitz to gun machine (= mitrailler) the German bombers. Replicas of the Spitfire are next to the center to see this iconic air weapon.

As a result, the Memorial to the Few is the synthesis of:

-Remembrance and learning

-Commemoration and historical activities

-Communion between the veterans and the public as symbol of a national union around a glorious WW2 memory.

Having a website (from where the documents are taken…) enables the Memorial to be known and to make the public aware of this historical period, source of national pride but also… to get funds !

The pilots, called the Few by Churchill, are not the only ones heroes honored today. Indeed, during the Blitz, the population was strongly got together (= mobilisée) to learn how to not panick and resist. The common people were the main heroes, honored by a project led by the BBC: the People’s War.