Vila do Bispo war memorial to recognise RAF dead

To mark this year’s Combatants Day, April 9th will see the unveiling of a monument in Jardim da Fonte, in Vila do Bispo, at a ceremony presided over by the local mayor, Adelino Soares.

The Council is to honour all the military from the municipality who died in 1918, during the First World War, the overseas Colonial War (in 1962, 1966, 1968 and 1969) and the ten Royal Air Force aviators (nine British and one Australian), who died on March 22, 1943, at Praia do Tonel, in Sagres.

The monument also will be a tribute to all the local combatants who served in Guinea, Angola, Mozambique and the former State of India (Goa, Damão and Diu) during the Colonial War (1961-1974).

The ceremony will end with the celebration of a mass at the Vila do Bispo church at noon.

The initiative, organised by the Vila do Bispo Council, has the support of the Association of Former Combatants of the Municipality of Vila do Bispo and the League of Combatants.