Bert Angel
2nd Mar 2011, 10:03
This November will be the 95th anniversary of the death in action of Major Lanoe Hawker VC, DSO. He was the first ace of the RFC, the first pilot to be awarded the VC for aerial combat and the first Commanding Officer of the first single seat fighter squadron, Number 24 operating pusher DH2s. Under his command and following his tactical directive of 'Attack everything' 24 Squadron broke the German dominance over the Somme, the 'Fokker scourge'.
He was killed on 23 November 1916 by Manfred von Richthofen who was flying an Albatross DII, an aircraft which outclassed Hawker's DH2. Hawker crashed just behind the German frontline near Ligny Thilloy. He was buried next to the wreck of his aircraft by the Germans, but over the next two years the area was heavily shelled and fought over by both sides and after the war no trace of the grave remained. Hawker is listed among the missing on the Air Service Memorial at Arras.
A party from Number XXIV Squadron visited the location of his crash site in 2009 and it was felt that Hawker deserved some form of memorial in the area. The Squadron has set up the Hawker Memorial Fund to build one. It will be constructed in the nearby village of Ligny Thilloy next to the French War Memorial. (The exact location of Hawker's burial is not known and the approximate area is farmland and several hundred metres from the nearest road so it is not feasible to place any memorial in this area.)
The memorial is due to be unveiled at 1500 on 11th November this year, Remembrance Day. This is 12 days short of the 95th anniversary of Hawker's death but is a much more convenient date for the many people who wish to attend. I am planning on having a DH2 do a flypast at the unveiling. The aircraft is based at Wickenby in Lincolnshire. It's a replica (no DH2s survived the war), one of only 2 flying in the world (the other is in New Zealand) and it was built in 1974 from the original plans. It is fitted with a 'modern' radial engine (a 1940s Kinner) rather than the original rotary but is otherwise pretty original. It will fly to the Somme via Headcorn & St Omer in early November. Crossing the Channel in such an aircraft at that time of year will clearly be quite testing! The DH2 will appear at the parade at Thiepval in the morning before overflying the Hawker Memorial in the afternoon.
Fundraising is on going, the whole project is being done using non public funds (ie: no taxpayer's money). I am posting this to seek help in getting a sponsor for the DH2. I am looking to raise £5000 to get the DH2 to France and back. This will be the first time that a DH2 will have flown over the Western Front since 1918.
My attempts at corporate sponsorship have so far been unsuccessful. If anyone has any connections that might be interested then could they PM me? The event will undoubtably attract considerable media attention, & there is the possiblity of some specific TV programme coverage - I can't be too specific at the moment!
He was killed on 23 November 1916 by Manfred von Richthofen who was flying an Albatross DII, an aircraft which outclassed Hawker's DH2. Hawker crashed just behind the German frontline near Ligny Thilloy. He was buried next to the wreck of his aircraft by the Germans, but over the next two years the area was heavily shelled and fought over by both sides and after the war no trace of the grave remained. Hawker is listed among the missing on the Air Service Memorial at Arras.
A party from Number XXIV Squadron visited the location of his crash site in 2009 and it was felt that Hawker deserved some form of memorial in the area. The Squadron has set up the Hawker Memorial Fund to build one. It will be constructed in the nearby village of Ligny Thilloy next to the French War Memorial. (The exact location of Hawker's burial is not known and the approximate area is farmland and several hundred metres from the nearest road so it is not feasible to place any memorial in this area.)
The memorial is due to be unveiled at 1500 on 11th November this year, Remembrance Day. This is 12 days short of the 95th anniversary of Hawker's death but is a much more convenient date for the many people who wish to attend. I am planning on having a DH2 do a flypast at the unveiling. The aircraft is based at Wickenby in Lincolnshire. It's a replica (no DH2s survived the war), one of only 2 flying in the world (the other is in New Zealand) and it was built in 1974 from the original plans. It is fitted with a 'modern' radial engine (a 1940s Kinner) rather than the original rotary but is otherwise pretty original. It will fly to the Somme via Headcorn & St Omer in early November. Crossing the Channel in such an aircraft at that time of year will clearly be quite testing! The DH2 will appear at the parade at Thiepval in the morning before overflying the Hawker Memorial in the afternoon.
Fundraising is on going, the whole project is being done using non public funds (ie: no taxpayer's money). I am posting this to seek help in getting a sponsor for the DH2. I am looking to raise £5000 to get the DH2 to France and back. This will be the first time that a DH2 will have flown over the Western Front since 1918.
My attempts at corporate sponsorship have so far been unsuccessful. If anyone has any connections that might be interested then could they PM me? The event will undoubtably attract considerable media attention, & there is the possiblity of some specific TV programme coverage - I can't be too specific at the moment!