Generous Michael Oliver, aged 75[TIM CLARKE]People of my generation owe a huge debt to our Armed Forces and Bomber Command.
The businessman offered to pay half the maintenance costs for the memorial forever through a trust fund in his name – amounting to £20,000 a year.
Mr Oliver, 75, said: “People of my generation owe a huge debt to our Armed Forces and Bomber Command.
“I do not think that Bomber Command was patted on the back hard enough.
“I want to keep alive the memory of the 55,573 men who did not make it.”
Mr Oliver, chairman of component manufacturer Oliver Valves of Knutsford, Cheshire, also bought a £70,000 18in-high replica of the memorial – a statue of a Lancaster crew – which will be kept at the RAF Club.
The memorial’s fund-raising director, Jim Dooley, said: “I am delighted Michael has stepped forward.
“He has halved the maintenance obligation that Bomber Command Association has to the RAF Benevolent Fund for the upkeep of the memorial.”
Daily Express readers have donated £1million towards the fund and Daily Express owner Richard Desmond has given another £500,000.
Earlier this week Andrew Patterson, 31, pleaded guilty to daubing the word “Islam” in 2ft red letters on the memorial in Green Park, central London.
No comments:
Post a Comment