A NEW memorial to remember the sacrifices made by Redcar’s air heroes was unveiled today (SUNDAY).

An eight ft by six ft mosaic memorial to the RAF has been installed by the Friends of Redcar Cemetery (FORC).

The memorial, in the old section of the cemetery, is inscribed: “Remembering the brave airmen and airwomen who have and do protect our nation. To whom we owe so much.”

Patron of FORC Lord Zetland, Antony Wharton, the deputy Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Redcar Mayor Vic Jeffries and Redcar MP Ian Swales attended the service, conducted by Reverend Rachel Harrison, vicar of St Peter’s Church.

Air veterans were also at the service, including Gina Craggs, formerly of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, and Bill Castor, 93, an ace air gunner from Eston.

Cam Nertney, vice chair of FORC, said: “Within the cemetery we have 47 war graves, and some of them are flying officers from World War II. We also have First World War flying officers in family graves here. We already have Army and Navy memorials so we thought it was time for an RAF one too.”

FORC raised over £3,000 to pay for the memorial, which was designed by artist John Todd, from Richmond.

As part of the service a Darlington RAF cadet played The Last Post. RAF and naval cadets from Redcar also attended the event.