Sir Keith Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, DCL, MA, RAF commanded the
Royal Air Force 11 Group
Fighter Command – the squadrons which bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain.
The failure of Nazi
Germany to defeat the RAF in 1940 was Hitler’s first major setback, and one which
forced him to call off his planned invasion of Britain. On 4 November 2009, a temporary
statue of Sir Keith Park
was unveiled on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square beneath Nelson’s Column –
a memorial to another British hero who defended our nation’s freedom in her hour of need.
The statue was unveiled by members of the Park family, Battle of Britain Veterans and various
dignitaries. The unveiling was attended by significant figures such as: Boris Johnson, Mayor of
London; Air Chief Marshal Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff and the then Lord Mayor
of Westminster, Duncan Sandys. After the great success of the temporary statue, we look
forward to unveiling the permanent bronze statue of Sir Keith Park in Waterloo Place on
15 September 2010, the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Keith Park was a New Zealander, who fought in the First World War at Gallipoli, and
then the Somme, before joining the RAF. At the outbreak of the Second World War,
Park was commanding the RAF squadrons that defended the South East of England.
Douglas Bader, another RAF pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain, once said that
"the awesome responsibility for this country’s survival rested squarely on Keith
Park’s shoulders. British military history of this century has been enriched with the
names of great fighting men from New Zealand, of all ranks and in every one of our
services. Keith Park's name is carved into history alongside those of his peers."
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Sir Keith Park - Why a memorial Statue?
A suitable memorial to the senior commander of the Royal Air Force Sector 11
Squadrons (11 Group), who defended London and the South East of England during
the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, is an oversight that needed to be
addressed. (SE includes: Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Essex,
Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight).
In addition to his considerable achievements in commanding 11 Group, he also
commanded the RAF in Malta (1942-43) and under Mountbatten in 1945 he was Allied
Air Commander-In-Chief of South East Asia. With previously a distinguished early career
in the NZ and British Army, including time spent in Gallipoli and the Somme, and then as
an ace fighter pilot later in the First World War, Sir Keith Park's accomplishments in various
theatres demonstrate what a remarkable man he was.
Trafalgar Square currently celebrates military leaders of this country - naval and army.
It can truly be termed a 'Square for Heroes'. Incorporating a statue of Sir Keith Park
appropriately acknowledged the accomplishments and feats he secured in both world wars,
but especially in defending the South East and London during the Battle of Britain. Such
a statue would add to those in Trafalgar Square and celebrate his steadfastness
in defence of our realm and his unique blend of management and leadership style that
enabled the pilots, aircrew and ground support staff to defend our country and the free
world during those dark days.
There is no conclusion other than if this Battle of Britain in 1940 had been lost, then
the outcome of the Second World War, and our current lives, would have been very different.
The Wise words of Lord Tedder, Marshal of the RAF, shine some light on the
importance of Sir Keith Park to the history of our free country.
"If ever any one man won the battle of Britain, he did. I don’t believe it is recognised how
much this one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save not
only this country, but the world." Marshal of the RAF, Lord Tedder.
It is public knowledge, and has already received support, that Terry Smith of Tullett
Prebon PLC and Collins Stewart Plc, City of London financial firms, has pledged to
fund a suitable statue of Sir Keith Park.
