Wednesday 11th September 2019
Prompted by the Ministry of Defence’s announcement that they intend to decommission RAF Scampton in 2 to 3 years time, a swell of opinion arose within the village and at RAF Scampton that a stained glass window might be commissioned to mark 100 years relationship between RAF Scampton and Scampton Church (1918 – 2018) and thereby also create a lasting memory to all who served in squadrons at the base, both in peacetime, during the two world wars and the cold war.
Following feedback relative to a conceptual design, two well respected stained glass designers, with an impressive portfolio, have finalised the design for the RAF stained glass window. The RAF Scampton badge forms a central part of that design, alongside the winged RAF badge which sits proudly on the 107 war graves in the churchyard.
An inscription on the window was chosen by Wing Commander Parker OIC RAF Scampton and will read:
“To commemorate those who served in squadrons based at RAF Scampton 1918 – 2018”
Also included in the design are representations of the iconic Avro Lancaster, Avro Vulcan and the Red Arrows Hawk Jets.
A sketch of the design can be seen on the Scampton Church website.
Running alongside the project is a community arts project which entails the children in local schools (many from RAF families) creating glass tiles based on facets of the window design. This educational initiative has an objective of teaching local children the value of living in a free country, and the sacrifices made by personnel at RAF Scampton, to enable this.
The following organisations have agreed to be supportive non-funding/social media community partners in the project to give a carefully designed crowd funding campaign a good chance of success, in securing the funds needed: RAF Scampton, The Red Arrows Team, Royal Air Forces Association, RAF Museum London, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, International Bomber Command Centre.
There is a crowd funding campaign on justgiving.com
The crowd funding campaign was designed by Lincoln University Media Studies Department. They have also created a film to launch the campaign which features Wing Commander Parker (OIC RAF Scampton) Wing Commander Keith (OIC Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team) and Squadron Leader Johnny Johnson DFC. (Last surviving member of the original 617 Dambusters Squadron which flew from RAF Scampton). Further films will be edited to show the history of RAF Scampton and a special edit to focus on remembrance as we approach Remembrance Day.
