General Chat

One of my rellies went to school in Essex during ww2. One day in 1943 this happened.

"Raimund Sanders Draper - whose RAF fighter was heading for the building when his engine suddenly cut out at 200ft. He heroically crashed his Spitfire into the school's playing fields - and only its wing hit the building."

My mother's fiancee flew with the "Few" and was shot down and killed over France in 1943. My GF cousin flew a Hurricane through 1940 and then moved onto Mosquitos flying from Scotland. He survived the war.

Visiting the RAF chapel at Biggin Hill is a very moving experience it was specially constructed it is not just any old chapel. The idea that funding could be stopped as a part of defence cuts is about typical of the current government which as the saying goes knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHb9KF7OmaY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDbkZoyBSA8

It seems there is good news and funding has been found for the chapel to remain as it is.
Heard on theSouth East news

St George's Chapel does not function as a parish church in the way that we normally think of the role of a parish church, that said, services are regularly attended by quite a few people from Biggin Hill and the surrounding areas and there is a group called The Friends of St George's Chapel.

I am sure that every possible avenue, including liaising with the local authority and all other faiths who hold services there, are being explored, and that a way of keeping the chapel open, not only as a lasting memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice - but also as a place of worship, will be found.

Maybe the congregation could apply to the Lottery heritage fund or the National Trust.

petition signed

It is such a beautiful chapel, I had to visit it once to do with my work. I hope some means of keeping it open to the public, maybe as a memorial rather than an active chapel, can be found.

Most congregations have to find the money to keep their churches going, I don't see this as any different.

The MOD spending is ridiculous, they need to cut down considerably.

According to the various reports, the amount of funding that the Ministry of Defence provides for the upkeep and running of the chapel is...........wait for it,,,,,,,,£50,000 per annum - cutting that will make a huge saving in government expenditure :-S

When i thought about it i saw it as a duty really :-)

Thanks Stella <3 living very near to it I know that it is a place of pilgrimage for the many people, from all corners of the world, who lost loved ones and friends in the various air battles to defeat the German Luftwaffe during World War Two.

Ok,

because i think it is important i have signed the petition.. :-)



HM Government
Accessibility Home
Search published e-petitions
Thank you.

Your signature has now been added to this e-petition..

Who the B hell does Anna Soubry think she is,My Father Flew from there during the Battle of Britain,and from other forward bases. If it was,nt for those Pilots she would,nt be in the position she is,These things should be left alone in memory of those who died protecting this Country, it seems any and everything is up for grabs now ,time it was stopped. :-| :-|

I don't think they ask for too much information just enough to verify you are a bona fide individual, they ask for that information for all petitions on the government's official e-petition site, they ask, your name, your address and post code and they ask for your e-mail address as they send you an e-mail that you have to action for you to be added to the petition, the whole thing takes no more than 2 minutes at the most.

It is used for church services on a regular basis

Good heavens have you seen everything they want you to sign up to on that petition and all the information they want to know?

I left the page i am afraid.

If it is not being used as a chapel there is not much sense in keeping it open as one.

I wouldn't think they are planning to demolish it so would imagine that de-consecrating(?) the site would open up all sorts of other possibilities for ways of using it to commemorate the Battle of Britain and maybe benefit the community as well.

I seldom give much credence to reports in the Daily Mail or the Mail on Sunday, having said that, the report also appears in our local edition of the New Shopper newspaper - so no smoke without fire then.

The chapel is only a couple of miles from where I live and I do hope, the reports of the Ministry of Defence plans to close down this beautiful chapel are unfounded - the chapel with its magnificent stained-glass windows, stands as a fitting memorial, to the Battle of Britain pilots, who gave their lives to save the nation from Nazi invasion.

it is reported that the Defence Minister Anna Soubry has said, that it no longer provides support to an operational RAF station and as the number of serving RAF personnel using the chapel is very low, continued support to the chapel would be an inappropriate use of defence resources and that her officials have met with the local chaplaincy council to discuss the closure of the site.

There is a petition to stop this on the government e-petion website below:-)

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/73191

St George’s RAF Chapel of Remembrance Biggin Hill website can be found here:-
http://www.rafchapelbigginhill.com/