Fallen heroes that died in defence of these shores will be remembered at a new memorial in Weymouth, if a fundraising campaign is successful.

Residents are being asked to 'sponsor a hero' by donating £15 towards a memorial to the 544 young men who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Britain.

The project is the passion of Weymouth resident Rob Oliver, who has spent the past 25 years helping ex-RAF veterans from 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron who served at RAF Warmwell during the Battle of Britain.

He believes it is about time the south west of England had a memorial to the Battle of Britain, as this area of the country played an important part during this period of history.

He said: "A lot of people think about Kent or London as the main areas of fighting during the Battle of Britain, but you have to remember that Portland was really important during the Second World War.

"I spent 25 years of my life helping the squadron that was based at Warmwell and I tried to get a memorial done five years ago but was unsuccessful.

"When it opens we want to have a proper ceremony to mark the occasion with all the proper delegations involved."

Jon Davenport, owner of The Beachside at Bowleaze Cove in Weymouth, has given a small piece of land for the memorial to be built on.

Local builders M&P Bricklayers Ltd, run by Carl Mutch and Lee Pattison, have agreed to build the memorial and support the project.

This project is also being backed by historian and best-selling author Dilip Sarkar MBE. He said: "It is easy, perhaps, to think of the Battle of Britain just being fought over London and the south-east. Certainly London and the sector airfields around the capital were prime targets – but so was the west country.

"Huge aerial battles were fought over Channel-bound convoys, the naval base at Portland, and 'the few' flew from such west country bases as Middle Wallop, Warmwell, Boscombe Down, and even Bibury in Gloucestershire. The aircraft factories at Filton, Yate and Yeovil were all heavily bombed, the fighting intense. This must be remembered.

"We have, of course, the National Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone, Kent, and the Battle of Britain Monument on Westminster’s iconic Embankment – but there is no specific memorial to the Battle of Britain in the west country.

"This we now seek to change by launching a crowdfunding appeal to fund a new south west memorial at Bowleaze Cove."

Sponsor the name of one of the 544 men who fell during the epic Battle of Britain by visiting crowdfunder.co.uk/sponsor-a-battle-of-britain-hero.