Other

{On the wall outside the entrance, large engraved lettering, painted sky-blue:}
1939 - 1945 

They died for freedom in raid and sortie over the British Isles and the lands and seas of Northern and Western Europe. 

In this cloister are recorded the names of twenty thousand airmen who have no known grave.

{At the centre of the courtyard, on a low, large stone, possibly reminiscent of a coffin:}
Their name liveth for evermore

{On the south face of the main building, near the ground:}
ML, 7 April 1952

{On a steel plaque just inside the entrance:}
Address by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second at the unveiling of the Runnymede Memorial, 17th October 1953

This memorial has been built in proud memory of the men and women of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who lost their lives serving from bases in the United Kingdom and North-West Europe in the Second World War, and who have no known graves.
They were part of a glorious and far larger company who laid down their lives for freedom; and this memorial is one of many others, built, wherever the battle raged, so that they may not be forgotten.  Twenty thousand four hundred and fifty-five names are recorded on these stones; and all races and countries of the British Commonwealth have here their representatives.
It is very fitting that those who rest in nameless graves should be remembered in this place.  For it was in those fields of Runnymede seven centuries ago that our forefathers first planted a seed of liberty which helped to spread across the earth the conviction that man should be free and not enslaved.  And when the life of this belief was threatened by the iron hand of tyranny, their successors came forward without hesitation to fight and, if it was demanded of them, to die for its salvation.  As only free men can, they knew the value of that for which they fought, and that the price was worth paying.
They were not alone in this knowledge and in this sacrifice.  At this very hour a memorial porch is being unveiled in Chelmsford Cathedral to commemorate some of those American airmen who fought together with us against the same aggression.
With prophetic insight, Pope wrote of this hill on which we stand:

“On Cooper’s Hill eternal wreaths shall grow
While lasts the mountain, or while Thames shall flow”.

Indeed the heroism of each will be remembered for as long as this memorial shall stand.  But that which was done by all will, with God’s help, still be remembered when those stones have crumbled into dust.  For wherever and for as long as freedom flourishes on the earth, the men and women who possess it will thank them and will say that they did not die in vain.  This is their true and everlasting memorial.

{Another steel plaque near the entrance gives some details of the Subjects commemorated and:}
This memorial was built and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Architect: Sir Edward Maufe

{Engraved in the glass of a window in the gallery:}
The first rays of the dawning sun
Shall touch its pillars,
And as the day advances
And the light grows stronger,
You shall read the names
Engraved on the stone
Of those who sailed on the angry sky
And saw harbour no more.
No gravestone in yew-dark churchyard
Shall mark their resting place;
Their bones lie in the forgotten corners
Of earth and sea.
But, that we may not lose their memory
With fading years, their monuments stand here.
Here, at the heart of England, half-way between
Royal Windsor and lordly London; looking down,
Here, where the trees troop down to Runnymede.
Meadow of Magna Carta, field of freedom,
Never saw you so fitting a memorial,
Proof that the principals established here
Are still dear to the hearts of men.
Here now they stand, contrasted and alike,
The field of freedom's birth, and the memorial
To freedom's winning.

And, as evening comes,
And mists, like quiet ghosts, rise from the river bed,
And climb the hill to wander through the cloisters,
We shall not forget them. Above the mist
We shall see the memorial still, and over it
The crown and single star. And we shall pray
As the mists rise up and the air grows dark
That we may wear
As brave a heart as they.
Paul H. Scott