Page 19 - HeritageEbooklet

The Memorial Window

The Memorial Window was designed by stained glass artist Hugh Easton
shortly after the end of the Second World War. It was commissioned to
commemorate the Royal Air Force pilots whose courage and skills saved
Britain from invasion in 1940, and to honour the Rolls-Royce workforce
who built the Merlin engines that powered their planes.

The magnificent window was installed on the stairway of the Marble Hall on
Nightingale Road. It was officially unveiled on 11 January 1949 in a ceremony
performed by Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Lord Tedder. The event was
hosted by the then Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, Ernest Hives, and was
attended by many VIP guests including Ministers, MPs and Battle of Britain
officers such as pilot Grp Capt Douglas Bader.

The dedication at the base of the window reads:

This window commemorates the pilots of the Royal Air
Force who in the Battle of Britain turned the work of our
hands into the salvation of our country.

In the centre of the window is an RAF fighter pilot. He is wearing flying
boots and a ‘Mae West’ life jacket and he carries his flying helmet in his hand.
He is standing on top of a three blade propeller, which spans the lower
section of the window where the shed roofs of the Rolls-Royce factory
can be seen. At the top of the window, behind the pilot, is an eagle with
outstretched wings and the glowing, golden sun.
The window remained part of the Nightingale Road site from 1949 until
the factory closed in 2007. At that time the window was removed, restored
and rededicated. It is now displayed as part of the Rolls-Royce Learning and
Development Centre in Sinfin.

A replica of the window was created as part of the redevelopment of the
Marble Hall building and installed in its original position on the stairway.

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