Dedication of a Memorial to Three Spitfire Pilots

A THREE-YEAR project by Alresford Historical & Literary Society to create a memorial to three Spitfire pilots who were killed over Abbotstone has come to fruition.

On July 22 1944 six pilots of 26 Sqn. RAF were tasked with an exercise to practise pair formation flying and deflection sighting. F/Lts Lees G.M. and Adams formed one pair, F/Sgt Hughes and F/Lt Hartley another. Sadly, sometimes in any training mistakes will be made and a collision killed Adams, Lees and Hartley. Hughes was exonerated in the following enquiry.

It was felt wrong that there was no memorial to the event that took the lives of three brave young men, so with permission of the Grange Estate a site was chosen, from which all three crash sites can be seen, at the junction of the Oxdrove Way and the Itchen Stoke – Abbotstone Road. After many delays but with the help of the Grange Estate, Hampshire County Council, Winchester City Council, Itchen Stoke & Ovington Parish Council, Award Resins Ltd. and individuals, at last a fitting monument has been created. Visitors can now read the story while looking over the beautiful Hampshire countryside and hear an eye-witness account via a QR code.

On Thursday, September 9 a dedication ceremony was held with RAFA Chaplain Peter Colquhoun officiating and about 30 people attending.

Eye-witness Stan Upton recalled the event he witnessed as a boy, Glenn Gilbertson, chairman of Alresford Historical & Literary Society presented a fragment of one of the Spitfires (recently found by Jamie Sanderson) to Roy Gentry for display in the Alresford Museum and an honour party from the Catering Training Squadron at Worthy Down sounded the Last Post.

September 15 is “Battle of Britain Day”, the centre of Wings Week in which the Royal Air Force Association makes a charity appeal for funds needed to support serving and former serving RAF personnel and their families, whenever they are in need. The Alresford Branch will be collecting in the town on Friday September 17.