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BOULOGNE BOMBED AGAIN
20th August 1940
The
1940 Chronicle: Bringing
the Battle of Britain to life for the next generation
RAF Benevolent Fund
launches innovative social media campaign
The RAF Benevolent Fund, the Royal Air
Force's leading welfare charity, has launched an innovative social media
campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
The ‘1940 Chronicle', a new online
1940s style newspaper, breaks daily news of Britain at war from the same day 70
years ago, as though it's happening in real time.
Interwoven with this historically
accurate account of the Battle are the stories of five fictional characters: a
Hurricane Pilot, a Radar Operator, an Aircraft Mechanic, a Nurse and a
Journalist. Their personal accounts of the Battle unfold in real time against
the backdrop of the war through a series of blogs in the form of diary
entries.
By giving people the opportunity to
gain an insight into the characters' personal lives and interact with them live
through Facebook and Twitter, the RAF Benevolent Fund hopes to engage a whole
new audience in this critical chapter in our history and generate a greater
understanding and appreciation for the RAF, both then and now.
Director of Marketing and
Communications at RAFBF, Dean Benton, explains:
"This campaign is designed to engage
the wider public in the story of the Battle of Britain and remind everyone of
the huge debt of gratitude we owe to those who fought for our freedom as well as
those serving today. We also want to bring home the physical, psychological and
emotional impact of conflict on serving personnel and their families and to
remind people that the RAF Benevolent Fund has always been there to support
members of the RAF family through difficult times. We were there for them in
1940 and we're still here for them today in 2010."
Battle of Britain Hurricane pilot Bob Foster was
consulted by the RAFBF in the development of the campaign. He said:
"I'm delighted that the RAF Benevolent Fund has chosen
to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle with this highly
imaginative campaign. It's so important that young people remember what we were
fighting for back then and how the life that they are living today would be very
different if we had not succeeded."
According to a new online YouGov poll
commissioned by the RAFBF, less than half (43%) of young people aged 16-25 know
that the Battle of Britain took place in 1940. The survey highlights a real lack
of understanding about the Battle among young Brits; more than a third (34%)
unaware of the main reason for it even taking place.
Despite this the overwhelming majority of young people
surveyed by the charity expressed a real interest, with 81% saying it's
important to continue to mark events such as the anniversary of the Battle of
Britain. Over a third (37%) of young people said that they have a strong
connection to the RAF and have a friend or family member who is currently
serving or who used to serve.
Since its launch in June 2010 1940Chronicle.com has
received over 30,000 visitors, with over 1000 people following the characters on
Twitter.
To visit the site go to www.1940chronicle.com
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