Save the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

[Chopa]

Since this year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the slimey politicians want to celebrate by axing the BoB Memorial Flight as the three million quid it costs to run is cutting deeply into their junketting funds.

Three million quid is about 5 pence for every man woman and child in the British Isles today. Since they believe that is too much to pay in memory of the brave men and women who turned Herr Grofaz and Fat Herman away and sent them off to a much colder hell, perhaps those of you who think that the RAF has already lost enough planes to the accountants wouldn't mind signing the attached petition and mailing five pence to whichever spineless grey non-entity is currently sitting in Winston Churchill's old chair.

My apologies if my tone is a trifle harsh, this bureaucratic carp has rather upset me since my old man's first operational posting was on Spits.

Regards Chopa

I quote:

"Hi Everyone,

Can we circulate this to every one that each of us know, i.e. Our full contacts list, to try and save the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Regards,

Dave Wheeler
Flt Lt
BSc(Hons), GCGI, RAFVR(T)

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/BBMFCuts/

Your petition reads:
We the undersigned Petition the Prime Minister to Ensure that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is not axed in any defence cuts It has been suggested that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) - which celebrates the sacrifice of those who flew during the 2nd World War - will be cut in the next round of defence cuts. This will be a travesty if it was to go ahead.
The BBMF is said to cost a mere £3m a year, less than 0.1% of the defence budget.
It is a great delight for all who see their displays, and, if closed, the memory of 'The Few' will be lost. Please vote to ensure that the BBMF is not closed. Simply click on the link above, fill in the form and then pass this on.
Thanks for submitting your petition.

[AndyJWest]

But first, you might like to check on the BATTLE of BRITAIN MEMORIAL FLIGHT website: http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/news/inde...77D2E906A0C1C6

You may have seen the article in the Daily Mail today speculating about the future of the BBMF. Air Command have advised us that the potential demise of the BBMF as a cost saving measure is untrue;

There is no plan to cut any funding from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. We routinely review all spending to balance our resources and focus on the highest priority - operations in Afghanistan. A wide range of options are always considered in each annual planning round but not all of these are taken.

The Daily Mail run this story every year. It's nonsense.

[kimosabi]

I'd be pissed off. I'm from Norway and I'd be happy to sign that petition. Hell, bring one of those beauracrats up here and I'll teach 'em some respect. Rats, that's what they are.

[AndyJWest]

Rats, that's what they are.

No, rats is what they would be if they were going to axe the BBMF. They aren't. For some reason this story keeps being reposted on aviation-related forums in spite of the demonstrable falseness of the story. Or do you think the BBMF is going to get the facts wrong?

[Avimimus]

Odd the politicians in my part of the world are either dessicated or made out of rubber.

[JoeA]

Jeez does no one read? This story is false the BBMF is not being axed!

[Insuber]

Interesting. That's a nice example of the paradoxes of communication: people sometimes hear what they expect to hear; in this case they see the ghost of one of the most powerful clichés, the Greedy Politician, or the Evil Bureaucrat.
Similar mechanisms generate the urban legends and Internet hoaxes. Beware of online petitions!

Insuber

[leggit]

The people of the UK would be in uproar if the BBMF was to be axed (which its not). I suspect they would insist that our fat greedy corrupt MP's cut down on their false expense claims before such a national treasure was sold off....even in these tough economic times £3 Million is a small cost and certainly not worth the tongue lashing they would recieve from the British public.

[Lucas_From_Hell]

Even if it was true, just check what people did for a single aircraft - the Vulcan.

I can't even imagine what people (and not only in the UK) would do to save this piece of British history the BBMF has become.

[smokincrater]

Signed! All the way from Australia