Arras Flying Services Memorial, Arras

Arras Flying Services Memorial. The names of the missing servicemen are inscribed on the memorial.

The Arras Flying Services Memorial commemorates 990 British casualties who died on active service on the Western Front in France and in Belgium and who have no known grave. This memorial commemorates those who served with the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force.

The air services for the British military were originally founded using tethered balloons for observation of the enemy positions. In 1911 the Royal Engineers established an Air Battalion using the new flying machines with engines. The Royal Flying Corps (R.F.C.) was soon formed in 1912 with an army branch and a naval branch. One month before the outbreak of the First World War the Royal Naval Air Service (R.N.A.S.) was formed as the official arm of air power for the Royal Navy. On 1 April 1918 the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were combined into the newly formed Royal Air Force (R.A.F.).

Design of the Air Services Memorial

Sir Edwin Lutyens designed the Arras Memorial to the Missing. Sculpture was by Sir William Reid Dick. The Flying Services Memorial (designated “Air Services Memorial” on the plan) is situated just inside the entrance.

The plan is courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. ^(CWGC)

Plan of the Arras Memorial including the location of the Flying Services Memorial.

Unveiling Ceremony

Arras Flying Services Memorial.

On 31 July, 1932, Lord Trenchard, Marshal of the Royal Air Force unveiled the Arras Memorial and the Flying Services Memorial. The date for its unveiling had been scheduled for a date in mid May 1932. Unfortunately, the French President J A Paul Doumer was shot by an assassin in Paris on 6 May and he died the following day. As a mark of respect the ceremony was postponed for two months.

Significance of the Globe

The globe on the top of the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

In his speech at the unveiling ceremony Lord Trenchard explained the significance of the positioning of the globe on the memorial:

“The globe placed on the obelisk has a significance bridging the years that have passed since November 1918. It stands exactly, with its North and South points, as our globe hung in space on the morning of Armistice Day 1918. On every anniversary of that morning it will recall the sacrifice that these kinsmen of ours made, winning infinite peace for themselves in the struggle to win peace for their country, and it will catch, however faintly, the warmth of the sun that shone down that day on the trenches of the Arras Front, when at last no longer on the airman's wings." ⁽¹⁾

Search for Names on the Arras Flying Services Memorial

View of the Arras Flying Services Memorial with the War Stone in the foreground.

Search the “Debt of Honour” Register held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for names inscribed on the Arras Memorial. Go to the CWGC website and click on the See Casualty Records button at:

Website: www.cwgc.org Arras Flying Services Memorial

Arras Memorial Location

Latitude N 50° 17' 13 " ; Longitude E 2° 45' 37 "

The Flying Services memorial is located in the Faubourg d'Amiens British military cemetery. It is in the west side of the city on the western stretch of the inner ring road Boulevard du General de Gaulle. It is also located close to the Citadel fort.

Access

The memorial is accessible to the public daily and is open at all hours. Wheelchair access is via a gate in the boundary wall at the rear of the cemetery/memorial site on the Rue Berthe Warret.

Parking

There is an allocated parking area at the memorial and also a large free public car park opposite the memorial. (The large free car park has a height restriction for vehicles higher than a car.)