St Deiniol’s Cathedral in Bangor provided the perfect venue to honour our nation’s Battle of Britain heroes on Saturday, 16 September.
Local dignitaries were led by the Lord Lieutenant of Gwynedd, Edmund Seymour-Bailey, Ynys Mon MP Virginia Crosby and leader of Gwynedd Council, County Councillor Medwyn Hughes. Mayors from Anglesey and Gwynedd towns were led by Bangor City Councillor Mark Roberts standing in for Mayor Elin Walker-Jones.
Photographed here is the Remembrance church service at Bangor Cathedral to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
A flypast salute by a Texan T Mk1 of 72(F) Squadron preceded a moving service and some rousing hymns.
During the service, the names of all North Wales airmen who perished in the fierce three-month aerial battle were read out by RAF Valley chaplain the Rev Sqd. Ldr. Michael Hall. It was after the prolonged air-battle that wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill broadcast the historic quotation: ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owned by so many to so few’.
Cllr Roberts who represented Bangor City Council said: “After 83 years it’s perhaps easy for us to forget just how close Britain came to being ruled by a monstrous Nazi Reich and for all its noise complaints, the ‘Howler’ training aircraft plays a critical part in producing the next generation of ‘the Few’. God forbid that they will be called sacrifice their lives too.”
A statement from RAF Valley read: “We wish to thank the Cathedral Clergy and support staff, their outstanding choir, as well as all the people of Bangor and the Air Cadets, for helping us give thanks to those airmen who paid for the freedoms we enjoy today.”
