A Second World War memorial chapel to the aircrew who died protecting Britain’s shores from German attack is threatened with closure because the Ministry of Defence has decided to stop funding it.

Winston Churchill said St George's Chapel of Remembrance on the site of the former RAF station at Biggin Hill in Kent should be a permanent shrine to ‘the few’ who gave their lives during the Battle of Britain

But the MoD has said its £50,000-a-year running cost is no longer an "appropriate use of defence resources" after the ministry has been hit with sweeping cuts.

Campaigners now fear the chapel will be closed without new funding. Gp Capt Patrick Tootal, secretary of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, said: "If you look at it through the eyes of the bean counters, the chapel is not war fighting and the MoD is about war fighting.

"I am afraid that the problem is that there is no money for heritage or history." The chapel commemorates 454 Biggin Hill aircrew who died during the war, when the station played a key role during the Battle of Britain.... (see more at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)