Ministry of Defence

LondonLife – Unveiling the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial…

by exploringlondon


Unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in Victoria Embankment Gardens last Thursday, the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial recognises the contributions of the many hundreds of thousands of UK armed forces and citizens deployed in the Gulf region, Iraq and Afghanistan between 1990 and 2015 – including the 682 service personnel who died – and those who supported them at home. The memorial was designed by sculptor Paul Day and features two large stones – one representing Afghanistan and the other Iraq – which are linked by a giant two-sided bronze ‘tondo’ depicting the concepts of ‘duty’ and ‘service’. Inclusive of all who contributed, both military and civilian, the monument bears no names. The Queen was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and among others who attended the ceremony near the Ministry of Defence was PM Theresa May and Secretary of State for Defence Sir Michael Fallon. PICTURES: Top – © Crown copyright 2017.

 

LondonLife – Brompton Road tube station sells for £53 million…

by exploringlondon

BromptonThe Brompton Road tube station, which closed in 1934 after being made redundant following the opening of other stations, sold for a reported £53 million over the weekend. The former Piccadilly Line station, located between South Kensington and Knightsbridge stations, opened in 1906 and was designed by architect Leslie Green for the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. It was used as a command centre for anti-aircraft guns during World War II and the story goes was where Nazi Rudolf Hess was interrogated after being captured in 1941. Owned up until the sale by the Ministry of Defence, it was most recently used as a training centre for air cadets and naval reservists. It will reportedly be converted into residential flats.