Ceremony at Winged Lion memorial honours Czechoslovak RAF pilots

Politicians, war veterans and diplomats from Great Britain, Poland and Slovakia gathered at the statue of the Winged Lion in Prague‘s Klarov park on Monday to honour the memory of the 2,500 Czechoslovak airmen who served with the Royal Air Force between 1940 and 1945. The ceremony took place on the 76th anniversary of their return to their homeland, where many of them were subsequently persecuted by the communist regime.

The Winged Lion memorial by the British sculptor Colin Spofforth was financed by the British communities living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as a symbol of appreciation by the British for the help provided by Czech and Slovak airmen flying in the RAF during World War II.