Some 14 war memorials, including one to the most decorated British pilot of the First World War and one to the first pilot to shoot down a German zeppelin airship, have been newly listed or had their protected status upgraded.
Unusual aviation monuments with new listings include a memorial with a central figure of Zeus, god of thunder; a Calvary Cross with a figure of Christ crucified, and a memorial in the shape of an aircraft.
The new and upgraded listings by the Culture Department on the advice of heritage agency Historic England marks a century since the formation of the RAF, the world’s first air force independent of army or navy control.
The RAF was formed on April 1, 1918, following a merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, which each had around 100 aircraft, balloons and airships at the beginning of the First World War in 1914.
By the end of the four-year conflict, the first in which aviation played a major role, the RAF had 27,000 officers and 260,000 other personnel operating more than 22,000 aircraft, but had seen high casualty rates.
The RAF played a key role in the Second World War, including fighting the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain which prompted the tribute by Winston Churchill that “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.
Heritage Minister Michael Ellis said: “From the…
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