Coastal Command member visits Abbey memorial
Saturday, 11th August 2007
Peter Ilbery was just 20 when he joined 455 Squadron of the RAF’s Coastal Command in 1945. Flying Hampdens and later Beaufighters, he and his Australian colleagues embarked on nightly operations against German U-boats during World War Two.
Now 83, and visiting relatives in the UK from his home in Canberra, Peter made a special journey to Westminster Abbey to visit Coastal Command’s memorial in the south cloister.
He said:
We were a quite remarkable unit and this really is a quite remarkable memorial.
The memorial, carved out of grey carrara marble by brothers Neil and Richard Talbot, was unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen on 16th March 2004.
