Show Gardens

RAF Benevolent Fund 'Strongest Link' Garden

Good Cause
Inspired by

About the garden

The Designer

John Everiss

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John Everiss

A young pilot looks nervously up at the sky, watching dogfights unfold overhead, waiting for the call to return to his spitfire and to the battle – the Battle of Britain.

A stone spiral wall surrounds and protects the sculpture. Enclosed within, a curved larch seat allows the visitor to sit and look up at the pilot and imagine the view he would have seen. Latticed steel panels emerge from the ground among the rubble, the rusted remains of conflict slowly being covered by beautiful planting.

The RAF Benevolent Fund has been providing support to veterans, serving personnel and their families for more than 100 years. This garden pays tribute to the help and protection the charity has continued to provide from the First World War to the present day.

A garden inspired by

RAF Benevolent Fund

We provide lifelong support to serving and ex-serving RAF personnel and their families. We'll consider any request for assistance, however big or small, providing a tailor-made approach to each individual situation.

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Garden Rehoming

Where can you visit this garden after the Show?

Following its larger than life reveal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022, the RAF Benevolent Fund ‘Strongest Link’ Garden has been rebuilt for a larger site at Biggin Hill Airport, where it forms part of the popular Battle of Britain Museum history trail. The watchful airman will welcome visitors to the airport for many years to come and the garden is accessible to everyone who would like a peaceful moment of reflection during their visit.

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"This has been a personal journey of discovery for me as a designer and for my family. My father was a navigator in RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War; his plane was shot down and he journied across the Pyranees to safety, finally making his way home. I feel so proud to have created something that pays tribute to him and the sacrifice made by so many men and women in pursuit of freedom." - John Everiss, Designer

Tom Stuart-Smith
Garden Designer