This is the beautiful winning design for the Spitfire Memorial which will be erected in Southampton in due course. Designed by R.J. Mitchell this iconic plane flew there on its first test flight in 1936. Last Saturday there was a flying display by Carolyn Grace in her two-seater Spitfire to commemorate the 75th anniversary, taking with her as her passenger Nick Hancock who designed the memorial.
Her husband had rebuilt the plane, taking 5 years to do so, but sadly he was killed; now Carolyn flies the plane.
There's a fund set up to enable the public to contribute towards the £2m cost of the memorial. Just put spitfirefoundationtrust.com into Google and all the info will appear.
5 comments:
That is a great design - my sister-in-law lives in Suthampton so when we visit I will have to look out for it once it is erected.
I think a memorial is a good idea, but £2 million!
Gosh I had no idea it was going to cost that much.
Still, if is is by donations I suppose people are free to spend their money how they like.
I used to build model Spitfires when I was young and try to fly them. Dad, as an engineer, used to work on the RR engines during the war. I'm planning to post a bit about this when I get a bit of time.
I think this design couldn't be bettered,Jane, it's so reminiscent of the way a plane goes up in a climb.
I'll be interested to read your Spitfire post when it appears, Bernard.I remember the dogfights when I was a child in London in 1940 and the swirls of contrails against a bright blue sky. Didn't understand it, of course. £2 million - a drip in the ocean these days when you think of the country's debt - it's only a lot of money when you're trying to raise it! I hope they do. You have a bit of history at one remove with your Dad working on RR engines. Lovely evocative sound of the Merlin engine.
It's me Mum....... not Jonathan....I like that design it. I think we should always remember what it stands for....Feedom!
Hi Teresa, Feedom!!!? Right sentiment, though.
Post a Comment