Battle of Britain Memorial: Capel-Le-Ferne, Dover.

Opened in 1993 by her majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, this was the first permanent memorial to commemorate the Battle of Britain.

Harry Gray was given an open brief by the Battle of Britain Trust to interpret the figure and base. The panel which selected the sculpture, in Bixhead blue stone from the Forest of Dean, was impressed by the non-combative design.

The figure of a young pilot in a seated pose reflects the youth of those who flew in the battle suggesting contemplation and vigilance rather than aggression and combat. It refers also to the fact that the pilots faced death alone.

Sculptor Harry Gray invited Landscape Architect Jamie Buchanan to create a sense of place and to focus an overall feeling of contemplation throughout the memorial site.

The seated figure forms a centrepiece of a three bladed propeller carved into the cliff top, continuing a long English tradition of chalk land art. This a created a sculptural landmark clearly visible to pilots from the air.