In his speech Soames described the monument as a symbol of the courage of 2500 Czerchoslovakian airmen. He also remembered an often-quoted statement by his grandfather who, when speaking of the airmen defending Britain, said: “Never before has so much been owed by so many to so few”.
The celebration culminated with an honorary fly-past by a historical Spitfire aircraft, owned and flown by Stephen Stead. In honour of this occasion the plane had been repainted and bore the markings with which it was flown by Czechoslovakian airman Otto Smik.
After the unveiling of the monument the RAF College Marching Band played the Czech and British National Anthems. Some people were surprised that the Czechoslovakian anthem was not played in its entirety, as Czech and Slovak airmen fought side by side in the RAF, as well as other nationalities living within the former ČSR. Furthermore, Otto Smik was himself a Slovak.
The unveiling of the monument had been dogged by disputes, between the National Heritage Institute (NHI) and organisers of the event, over the location of the monument. The NHI had earlier expressed disagreement with the site, but this did nothing to dissuade B. Lomecký, Mayor of Prague 1, from his firm conviction that the Ministry of Culture is not risking an international scandal, and he therefore approved the decision of Prague 1 council.
