| Memorial: |
ARRAS FLYING SERVICES MEMORIAL, Pas de
Calais, France |
| Location: |
The Arras Flying Services Memorial will be
found in the Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, which is in the Boulevard du
General de Gaulle in the western part of the town of Arras. The cemetery
is near the Citadel, approximately 2 kilometres due west of the railway
station. The Arras Memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, is a
cloister, 25 feet high and 380 feet long, built up on Doric columns, and
faces west. In the broader part of the site the colonnade returns to
form a recessed and open court, terminated by an apse, and in front of
the apse is the Arras Flying Services Memorial. The names of the
casualties are carved on stone panels fixed to the cloister walls or the
Flying Services Memorial. The Arras Flying Services Memorial
commemorates casualties of the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying
Corps, and the Royal Air Force, either by attachment from other arms of
the forces of the Commonwealth or by original enlistment, who fell on
the whole Western Front and who have no known grave. The British Air
Services originated in the use of balloons for purposes of
reconnaissance. The balloon gave way to power-driven air machines and in
1911 an Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was formed. In 1912 the Air
Battalion was absorbed into the Royal Flying Corps which consisted of a
Naval Wing and a Military Wing and a Central Flying School. These two
wings developed during the course of the war, both sections expanding
greatly until they combined and the Royal Air Force came into being on
the 1 April 1918.
|
| Historical Information: |
The Arras Memorial, designed by Sir Edwin
Lutyens, is a cloister, 25 feet high and 380 feet long, built up on
Doric columns, and facing West. In the broader part of the site, the
colonnade returns to form a recessed and open court, terminated by an
apse, and in front of the apse is the memorial of the Flying Services.
The names of the war dead are carved on stone panels, fixed to the
Flying Services Memorial. On these panels are inscribed the names of the
officers and men having no known grave, of the Royal Naval Air Service,
the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force and the Australian Flying
Corps, either by attachment from other arms of the forces of the
Commonwealth or by original enlistment. The British Air Services
originated in the use of balloons for purposes of reconnaissance. The
balloon gave way to power-driven air machines and in 1911 an Air
Battalion of the Royal Engineers was formed. In 1912 the Air Battalion
was absorbed into the Royal Flying Corps which consisted of a Naval Wing
and a Military Wing and a Central Flying School. These two wings
developed during the course of the war, both sections expanding greatly
until they combined and the Royal Air Force came into being on the 1
April 1918. |