Cllr David East honours the fallen at the RAF Wickenby memorial
Cllr East was proud to attend the RAF Wickenby Memorial Service, remembering the airmen of Bomber Command who gave their lives in the Second World War.
Reform UK county councillor David East was proud to attend this year’s Royal Air Force Wickenby Memorial Service, joining veterans, families and local people to honour the fallen heroes of the Second World War.
For David, a Royal Air Force veteran himself, the service has a special meaning. He wore his RAF beret with pride to remember those who served before him — and who never came home.
Remembering Wickenby’s airmen
From 1942 to 1945, RAF Wickenby was home to 12 and 626 Squadrons of No. 1 Group Bomber Command. Night after night, young crews took off from the Lincolnshire countryside to fly over occupied Europe. The memorial records the one thousand and eighty men of the two squadrons who gave their lives flying from the airfield.
The memorial itself is topped by a bronze figure of Icarus, falling from the sky — a powerful reminder of the price paid by Bomber Command’s aircrew. It is now a Grade II listed monument, and the annual service keeps their memory alive.
Lincolnshire, the Bomber County
Lincolnshire earned its name as the Bomber County. Airfields like Wickenby, Waddington and Scampton shaped our towns and villages, and the sacrifice of the men and women who served there is part of who we are. Many families across our area still carry those stories.
Reform UK is proud to stand with our veterans and the armed forces community. Remembering those who gave everything for our freedom is a duty we owe to them, and to the generations who come after us.
We will remember them
Thank you to everyone who organised the service and to all who came along to pay their respects. As a former member of the RAF, Cllr East will continue to support remembrance events and the veterans’ community across Lincolnshire.
