A helicopter will land at the Royal Air Force Museum on Tuesday to deliver a wreath which is to form the centrepiece of a new national war memorial.

The Chinook helicopter will bring the bronze wreath which will lie at the head of the Bomber Command memorial, currently under construction in Green Park, central London.

The memorial will honour the 55,573 men of Bomber Command who lost their lives in the Second World War. It is now under construction and is due to be completed in time for a dedication and unveiling on Thursday, June 28.

The Bomber Command Association, based at the RAF Museum, aims to raise more than £7.5 million to pay for and maintain the memorial.

The bronze wreath was designed by Bomber Command veteran and artist Dr Colin Dudley, who lives in Adelaide, Australia.

Dr Dudley, 88, was among an estimated 10,000 Australians who served with Bomber Command during the war.

He said: "I feel very honoured to have been asked to do it and I'm very hopeful that it looks good enough when it gets there.

"I hope it will express the devotion and grief and admiration of all the those people who lost friends and relations and fathers and sons in the Second World War in Bomber Command."