St Clement Danes, the RAF church

http://parisfranz.com Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St Clement's! St Clement Danes is a small church in Aldwych, at the end of The Strand, in central London. Behind its screen of trees lies a lot of history. It is thought the first church was built on the site in the ninth century by the Danes who stayed behind after their defeat by King Alfred. A stone church was then built in the eleventh century, and then rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1679. The church hadn't been destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, but clearly Wren was in church-building mode! Much of the church was destroyed during the Blitz, and re-built once again, as a memorial and homage to the Royal Air Force. The interior is filled with links to the RAF, and it's moving to see, especially the memorial to the Polish Air Force. The Poles were, I remember my grandmother telling me, impossibly glamorous.