Wings for Victory Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of Royal Air Force aircraft being sponsored by a civil community.[1] The British Army equivalent was Salute the Soldier Week and the Royal Navy equivalent was Warship Week.[2]
Campaign
editEach county was set a target of money to raise and local civic leaders were presented with plaques as a reward for the fund raising efforts.[3]
A large military event was held at Trafalgar Square in London in March 1943 to raise money for the Wings for Victory campaign.[4] The amount realised in the weeks specifically designated Wings for Victory Weeks was £615,946,000,[5] equivalent to about £33.6 billion in 2023.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Wings for Victory Weeks". Hansard. 16 March 1943. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ HMS TAKU (PDF), South Holland District Council, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-22
- ^ "Wings for Victory". Thirsk Museum. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Wings for Victory Week". British Pathe. 1943. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "The Bank of England 1939-45 (Unpublished War History): War Savings Weeks" (PDF). p. 9.
- ^ United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2024). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved July 15, 2024.