The unsung heroes of the RAF’s elite Photographic Reconnaissance Units (PRU) are finally set to be honoured with a national memorial in London, after a massive breakthrough was announced in the House of Commons on 6 May 2025 — fittingly timed with the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
More than 200 MPs from across eight parties have backed the campaign to establish a monument outside the Treasury, near the entrance to the Imperial War Museum’s Churchill War Rooms, facing St James’s Park.
Veterans Minister Al Carns MP confirmed that the campaign, led by the Spitfire AA810 Project, has officially moved to the planning stage.
A Tribute Carved from Sacrifice
The memorial’s centrepiece will feature a restored Rolls-Royce Merlin engine from an RAF Mosquito assigned to 540 PR Squadron, which crashed in Wales in 1944. The specialist restoration was carried out by Eco Group’s Eco Dry Ice team, preserving a powerful symbol of wartime sacrifice.
Formed in 1939, the PRUs flew highly dangerous solo missions deep into enemy territory, capturing over 26 million images that were vital to Allied operations like D-Day, the Dambusters Raid, and the hunt for Nazi superweapons like the V2 rocket.
Flying unarmed and unarmoured, these pilots faced a chilling 50% fatality rate, with an average life expectancy of just two and a half months. Despite their critical role, until now, they have had no national memorial.
Not Just the Pilots: Honouring the Analysts
The monument will also honour the Photographic Interpreters — including Dirk Bogarde and Sarah Churchill (daughter of Winston Churchill) — who turned raw images into actionable intelligence at RAF Medmenham.
Around 635 interpreters, a third of them women, worked tirelessly to ensure the pilots’ deadly missions were not in vain.
An International Effort Against Fascism
The PRU was a global brotherhood, with 23 nationalities represented, including heroes from the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and many occupied European nations.
Tony Hoskins, Director of the Spitfire AA810 Project, said:
We are so proud that after years of hard work, the story of these brave young men and women — whose sacrifice changed the course of history — will finally be recognised at the very heart of London.
What’s Next
The Royal Parks and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have already granted approval in principle. The next phase will involve ground surveys, full design plans, and final planning permissions.
For more information, or if you know someone connected to the PRU, visit the Spitfire AA810 Project website or contact Tony Hoskins at [email protected].
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