Originally Posted by
HighAndFlighty
Many years ago, in May 1974, my family and I were touring in the UK. I was a mere teenager at the time.
My father had intentions of obtaining and restoring a Spitfire, and on 24 May 1974 we inspected a Spitfire, pretty much intact but engineless, on static exhibition outside a pub (called, quite naturally, "The Spitfire").
I'm not exactly sure where the pub (and the Spitfire) was, but I believe it was located in a town called Upton-on-Severn in Worcestershire, or thereabouts. That day we had traveled from the Welsh town of Knighton, and my geography may be a bit off.
The asking price for the Spitfire was about UKP30,000.
I recall that the aircraft was of the clipped-wing variety. The old man had some concern as to the fuselage shape, and in hindsight I suspect it may have been one of the late Griffin powered varieties, rather than the earlier Merlin engined version he was seeking.
I understand the pub is no longer there, but does anybody have any details of this particular aircraft, and what happened to it?
Upper Hill, near Leominster, rather than Upton-on-Severn.
It was Spitfire LF.XVIe TD135, so it did indeed have clipped wings. It's now owned by a collector in Belgium and in storage there pending a rebuild.
The Swift moved on too, a few years ago.
