It comprises a bronze sculpture by Henry Poole which depicts the British fighter pilot Captain Albert Ball VC DSO & Two Bars, MC accompanied by an allegorical female figure, standing on a stone pedestal by the architect Edwin Alfred Rickards.

In September 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Ball enlisted in the 2/7th (Robin Hood) Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) and he was quickly commissioned as a second lieutenant.

Ball became famous for his martial achievements, and he was described by Germany aviator Manfred von Richthofen (the "Red Baron") as "by far the best English flying man".

It includes a life-size statue of Ball, depicted in a standing position, wearing in his flying uniform, with his hands on his belt, looking up towards the sky.

/ 7TH ROBIN HOOD BATTALION SHERWOOD FORESTERS / ATTACHED ROYAL FLYING CORPS, DSO (2 BARS) MC / CROIX DE CHEVALIER, LEGION D'HONNEUR, / ORDER OF ST GEORGE (RUSSIAN) / HON.

And the other inscription reads "IN THE AIR / HE GAVE MOST CONSPICUOUS / AND GALLANT SERVICE TO / HIS COUNTRY AND WAS KILLED / IN ACTION FIGHTING GLORIOUSLY / MAY 7TH 1917 AGED 20 YEARS / PER ARDUA AD ASTRA".

The base has bronze fittings, including eternal flames, a feather, a laurel wreath, and architectural feet.

A bronze cast of Poole's model for the statue is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London, donated by Ball's parents in 1929.