Video
TV host Guy Martin unveils memorial to Spitfire pilot killed in Norfolk
TV presenter Guy Martin unveiled the silver spitfire's plaque at Langham Dome near Holt which was dedicated to Richard Younghusband who died while flying a spitfire over the dome in 1953. - Credit: Neil Didsbury
A dedication ceremony was held at a former Norfolk RAF base in memory of a pilot who was killed in 1953 when his Spitfire plane crashed.
The event was held on Saturday at Langham Dome, between Wells and Holt, and was centred around a full-sized silver replica of a Supermarine Spitfire, unveiled in August last year.
The Spitfire turns in the wind, with its nose angled down.
“It’s quite a sight, it’s moved about 45 degrees this morning,” said senior co-ordinator at the dome Deborah Wilson.
A plaque at the replica’s foot was unveiled by TV presenter Guy Martin in memory of pilot Richard Younghusband.
Words were also read out in front of an audience of 70 people by Professor Roger Bland, a lay minister in the Diocese of Norwich who is also former Keeper of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum.
“It was really well-attended. We thought the weather would be really bad, but as it turned out, it was fairly OK,” said Ms Wilson.
Most Read
- 1 Revealed: Why wasps chase you and how to get rid of them this summer
- 2 Film crews for Paramount crime series to visit ANOTHER Norfolk village
- 3 Anger as 'rollercoaster' appears at bottom of woman's garden
- 4 Six fire crews battle large field blaze in south Norfolk
- 5 Woman stabbed in neck and arm in city park
- 6 Here's when parents can get complimentary tickets to BeWILDerwood
- 7 Thieves run off with alcohol worth nearly £5,000 from Tesco
- 8 Come and meet the animals you could adopt at RSPCA open day
- 9 New 250-space car park could be created near picturesque Norfolk harbour
- 10 Mum's warning after children almost stung by jellyfish
There had initially been some uncertainty among organisers over whether the event would be permitted to go ahead.
Ms Wilson explained: “We actually had to get special permission from the cabinet office in order to go ahead with this.
“It had all been arranged, and we thought we were going to have to cancel when Boris [Johnson] moved the date [of final coronavirus restrictions lifting] forward to July.”
“Our chairman, Patrick Allen, actually went to North Norfolk MP Duncan Baker to start with and then it ended up at the Cabinet Office."
Mr Baker tweeted a photo of himself and Mr Martin outside Langham’s Blue Bell pub, along with a caption stating that the dedication was “lovely”.
The dome’s interior is one of the first examples of virtual technology, as moving images were projected within it to teach trainees how to shoot down enemy aircraft during the Second World War.