Albert Ball - Post-war Legacy

Post-war Legacy

Following the end of the war, Ball's grave, which had been behind enemy lines, was located at Grave 643 in the Annoeullin Cemetery. In December 1918, personnel of No. 207 Squadron RAF erected a new cross in place of the one left by the Germans. His father wanted the remains brought back to England for reburial, but the policy put in place by the Imperial War Graves Commission meant that this was not possible. The Commission were working at the time to consolidate the British war graves into fewer cemeteries; twenty-three British bodies in graves in the location where Ball was buried were moved to the Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, but at his father's request Ball's grave was allowed to remain. His father paid for a private memorial to be erected over Ball's grave in what later became the Annoeullin Communal Cemetery and German Extension. Ball's is the only British grave from the First World War in this extension, the rest being German war graves. Ball's father also bought the French field where his son had died and erected a memorial stone on the crash site.

The memorials to Ball in his native Nottingham include a monument and statue in the grounds of Nottingham Castle. The monument, which was commissioned by the city council and funded by public subscription, consists of a bronze group on a carved pedestal of Portland stone and granite. The bronze group, by the sculptor Henry Poole, shows a life-size figure of Ball with an allegorical female figure at his shoulder. The monument was unveiled on 8 September 1921 by Air Marshal Trenchard, with military honours including a flypast by a squadron of RAF aircraft.

In further remembrance of his son, Albert Ball, Sr. commissioned the building of the Albert Ball Memorial Homes in Lenton to house the families of local servicemen killed in action. The Lenton War Memorial, located in front of the homes, includes Ball's name and was also paid for by the Ball family.

In 1929 the bronze statuette model for the Ball part of the Nottingham Castle monument was presented by Ball's father to the National Portrait Gallery in London, where it is on display. A memorial to Ball, along with his parents and a sister who died in infancy, appears on the exterior wall of the southwest corner of Holy Trinity Church in Lenton. Another memorial tablet is present inside the same church, stated in 1930 to be mounted on the north wall and bearing the RAF motto Per Ardua ad Astra, along with decorations of medals and royal arms.

In 1967, the Albert Ball VC Scholarships were instituted at his alma mater, Trent College. The dining hall at Trent College features the propeller from one of his aircraft, mounted on one wall with a plaque describing his achievements. One of the houses at Nottingham High School Junior School is also named after Ball.

The Albert Ball Memorial Homes were Grade-II listed for historic preservation in 1995.

In 2006, Ball was one of six recipients of the Victoria Cross to be featured on a special commemorative edition of Royal Mail stamps marking the 150th anniversary of the award.

Ball's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Nottingham Castle Museum along with his other medals and memorabilia including a bullet-holed Avro windshield, a section of engine piping from one of his damaged Nieuports, his Freedom of Nottingham Scroll and Casket, and various letters and other papers.