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PM joins campaign for Spitfire memorial
6:03am Thursday 5th June 2008
By Peter Law »
THE Daily Echo's campaign for a grand landmark monument to the Spitfire will reach Number 10 Downing Street today.
The Prime Minister will host a reception for a delegation of Southampton heritage champions at Britain's most famous address.
Gordon Brown supports our campaign to create a striking memorial at a major gateway to Southampton.
Mr Brown will officially launch the international fundraising drive to turn the £1.5m vision into a reality.
The event will raise tens of thousands of pounds and take our campaign to recognise the Spitfire - and the men and women who built and flew it - to the world stage. About 40 sponsors and supporters were invited by Mr Brown to spend the evening at Number 10.
Councillor John Hannides, Southampton City Council's Cabinet member for leisure, culture and heritage, will be leading the delegation to meet Mr Brown.
He said: "The Spitfire was an iconic global symbol of innovation and courage, so where better to mark its place in aviation history than the city where it was born. We intend to create a tribute on a scale not seen anywhere else in the world.
Click here for previous Spitfire campaign stories
"We have received the backing of the Prime Minister and now we hope the people of Southampton and the whole of Britain will get behind us."
John Denham, MP for Southampton Itchen, said: "I am a keen supporter of the project to commemorate the Spitfire in Southampton and was very pleased to be able to arrange this reception with the Prime Minister at Number 10. I am looking forward to attending and hope that the reception will help the fundraising campaign get off to a good start."
The plans will see a striking installation rising 100ft above a major city gateway to commemorate the birth place of the historic plane, which helped secure victory in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War.
The Spitfire Tribute Foundation, led by Cllr Hannides, is made up of representatives from the Echo, Southampton Airport and Solent Sky Museum. It is also supported by prominent local businessmen Peter Harding, Robert Sperring and Patrick Trant. The foundation has raised £30,000 from Southampton-based sponsors and the council has committed a further £70,000. The target is £1.5m within 18 months.
Plans to fill the memorial coffers include amajor fundraising dinner, applications to national and international funding bodies, public subscriptions and donation companies worldwide.
An initial concept to have the Spitfire standing on its tail has received mixed reactions from Echo readers.
Designers commissioned by the council are drawing up the final plans, which are expected to be unveiled later in the summer.
The Give us a Spitfire campaign was launched after the Southampton Partnership, an unelected group of community leaders, rejected a funding bid to create a replica bronze Spitfire.
Your Say YourEcho
Woolston Boy, says...
9:06am Thu 5 Jun 08
Pukeko, Dunedin, NZ says...
9:23am Thu 5 Jun 08
Woolston Boy wrote:Hear hear, what an absurd idea it was (hopefully it remains past tense!) to stand a Spit up like that.
Monument should be positioned just as it is in the pictuure above, not on its tail.
hmm, says...
9:55am Thu 5 Jun 08
gorf, soton says...
10:13am Thu 5 Jun 08
A sculpture of the prototype Spitfire, K5054, stands on the roundabout at the entrance to Southampton International Airport, which, as Eastleigh Aerodrome, saw the first flight of the aircraft in March 1936
There is also a Spitfire on display on the Thornaby Road roundabout near the school named after Douglas Bader who flew a Spitfire in the Second World War. This memorial is in memory of the old RAF base in Thornaby which is now a residential estate.
One of the few remaining Spitfire in its original paint is displayed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra; it has not been repainted since the Second World War.
R.J. Mitchell, Born 20 May 1895
Butt Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme
, United Kingdom
If most of these things were built up north whats the link with southampton? sorry bit rubbish on history
C. Church, Bishopstoke says...
10:15am Thu 5 Jun 08
clair, Woolston says...
10:27am Thu 5 Jun 08
May I say the Spitfire outside Southampton Airport is a very poorly constructed affair and just looks as if it is supported by scaffolding. Sadly the intended model standing on it's tail is quite sad because if one could have seen it taking off then it was almost a feeling of pride at it's arrow-like swiftness into the sky ducking and diving gave the people of Southampton such relief that our Spitfires were protecting us.
clair
Please make it, as suggested in the previous letter, flying across the sky.
hmm, says...
10:35am Thu 5 Jun 08
local, says...
11:52am Thu 5 Jun 08
allsaintsnocurves, southampton says...
12:16pm Thu 5 Jun 08
R J Mitchell wrote:You should get your facts right before commenting. The Spitfire was made by Supermarine aircraft manufactures who were based in Woolston in Southampton! not in Birmingham!
Nice that Southampton should want to commemorate one of staffordshires finest minds, R J Mitchell in this way. Indeed the spitfire monument at the Castle Bromwich Jaguar factory, near Birmingham, where all but a few of these fantastic fighters were made could do with companion down south. I wonder if there will be any acknowledgement to the fact. "Spitfire, designed in Southampton by a midlander, built in Birmingham by midlanders."
allsaintsnocurves, southampton says...
12:17pm Thu 5 Jun 08
R J Mitchell wrote:You should get your facts right before commenting. The Spitfire was made by Supermarine aircraft manufactures who were based in Woolston in Southampton! not in Birmingham!
Nice that Southampton should want to commemorate one of staffordshires finest minds, R J Mitchell in this way. Indeed the spitfire monument at the Castle Bromwich Jaguar factory, near Birmingham, where all but a few of these fantastic fighters were made could do with companion down south. I wonder if there will be any acknowledgement to the fact. \"Spitfire, designed in Southampton by a midlander, built in Birmingham by midlanders.\"
Anlage, Southampton says...
1:16pm Thu 5 Jun 08
The Spitfire served to defend these shores and uphold the freedom and values of the British people during WW2. Gordon Brown's open border policy has put us under a new wave of invasion and he also wants to curtail our freedom with a 42 day "internment without trial" piece of legislation.
What an absolute hypocrite he is!
Julian Le Good, Hedge End says...
1:18pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Sean, Southampton says...
1:22pm Thu 5 Jun 08
The Spitfire served to defend our shores and uphold the freedom and values of the British people during WW2. Gordon Brown's open door immigration policy has put us under a fresh wave of invasion, and he wants to curtail our freedom with a 42-day "lock 'em up without trial" piece of internment legislation.
What a hypocrite!
southy, redbridge says...
1:36pm Thu 5 Jun 08
southy, redbridge says...
1:42pm Thu 5 Jun 08
R J Mitchell wrote:ummm he was only born there he work and lived in the south and the first spitfires where build in southampton,but when the war started they where build all over the uk,plus there was never that many made when you compear with how many hurricanes was made the true winner off the battle of britian
Nice that Southampton should want to commemorate one of staffordshires finest minds, R J Mitchell in this way. Indeed the spitfire monument at the Castle Bromwich Jaguar factory, near Birmingham, where all but a few of these fantastic fighters were made could do with companion down south. I wonder if there will be any acknowledgement to the fact.
"Spitfire, designed in Southampton by a midlander, built in Birmingham by midlanders."
gorf, says...
4:00pm Thu 5 Jun 08
southy, redbridge says...
4:09pm Thu 5 Jun 08
gorf wrote:could off been not sure where he was born only knows he spent his working life in the south
wasnt he born in newcastle under lyme?
Stuart Carrs, says...
4:33pm Thu 5 Jun 08
S Melly, says...
4:45pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Whilst the money is being spend on that... people won't be able to get into Southampton to see it because of the BAD STATE OF THE ROADS!!!!!!
Fix the roads... and then see what "spare" cash there is for this silly monument.
justathought, southampton says...
5:04pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Woolston Boy wrote:Yes I 'hear! hear!' that too. The vertical structure looked rediculous.
Monument should be positioned just as it is in the pictuure above, not on its tail.
However I really think something with a marine connection would be much more appropriate for this city. It's laudable to acknowledge past achievements, but we need to look forward not back so how is it appropriate now?
Numpty Basher, says...
5:26pm Thu 5 Jun 08
S Melly wrote:Erm, read the article, will you?
Whats the point? Whilst the money is being spend on that... people won't be able to get into Southampton to see it because of the BAD STATE OF THE ROADS!!!!!! Fix the roads... and then see what "spare" cash there is for this silly monument.
Now, your starter for one point:
"Where does it say the money for the monument is coming from?"
southy, redbridge says...
5:37pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Idiots, says...
5:39pm Thu 5 Jun 08
southy wrote:Help mE!!!, there is already a model of a spitfire there on the roundabout.
how about renaming southampton airport to R.J.Michell and put a model of the spitfire there
Designed by a germen, ironic.
southy, redbridge says...
5:53pm Thu 5 Jun 08
but what do you think of renaming southampton airport to R.J.MICHELL
wontee, Soton says...
7:37pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Veteran, Woolston says...
7:54pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Wills, Soton says...
7:58pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Total: Castle Bromwich - 11964
There were many shadow factories.
Components built by sub contractors all over the country and brought together for assembly.
The designer who is mostly unknown who took the spitfire from the Mark 1 through to mark 24
was Joe Smith of Supermarine.
Wills, Soton says...
7:58pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Total: Castle Bromwich - 11964
There were many shadow factories.
Components built by sub contractors all over the country and brought together for assembly.
The designer who is mostly unknown who took the spitfire from the Mark 1 through to mark 24
was Joe Smith of Supermarine.
Anybody, says...
9:21pm Thu 5 Jun 08
My Great Grandfather flew Junkers Ju 87s during the war. why do we not have a monument to this aircraft?
Yeah, we could get Anthony Gormley to construct a memorial with one crashed nose first into a field and riddled with bullet holes, and with a Spitfire performing a victory roll above it.
I hope that would satisfy you.
Anon, Southampton says...
10:21pm Thu 5 Jun 08
S Melly wrote:Hardly a silly monument! Why don't you pay a bit of respect to those who helped build the spitfire and the pilots who flew it. It's because of them that Britain is a free country today and the Nazi annexation of Europe was stopped in it's tracks.
Whats the point?
Whilst the money is being spend on that... people won't be able to get into Southampton to see it because of the BAD STATE OF THE ROADS!!!!!!
Fix the roads... and then see what "spare" cash there is for this silly monument.
Anybody, UK says...
11:55pm Thu 5 Jun 08
credit care, anywhere says...
2:06am Fri 6 Jun 08
southy, redbridge says...
5:23pm Fri 6 Jun 08
Wills wrote:joe smith took over from r.j.michell after his short illness and death(cancer) in june 1937,the very first prototype spitfire k5054 first took off at southampton airport in march 1936
Castle Bromwich factory built about half of the total production of Spitfires of all marks\'
Total: Castle Bromwich - 11964
There were many shadow factories.
Components built by sub contractors all over the country and brought together for assembly.
The designer who is mostly unknown who took the spitfire from the Mark 1 through to mark 24
was Joe Smith of Supermarine.
southy, redbridge says...
7:46pm Fri 6 Jun 08
wontee, soton says...
10:03pm Sat 7 Jun 08
Does he know that he's world famous in Southampton, thanks to his support for a local rag campaign. Or is the support reported by the Echo fictitious. God help the country if he's concerned about a model plane rather than the state of the economy.
Steve (my nan made Spitfires) Bartlett, New Forest says...
8:17am Sun 8 Jun 08
<p><p>
Ooohh my blood's just run cold - like when 13 of the beauties flew over Weston shore for the Sea Wings airshow. <p><p>
Well that's that one sorted out... now for World peace... no Gordon - we can sort this one ourselves - thanks.
Help, Soton says...
2:06pm Sun 8 Jun 08
southy, redbridge says...
3:35pm Sun 8 Jun 08
Alex, Soton says...
7:14pm Sun 8 Jun 08
southy, redbridge says...
8:00pm Sun 8 Jun 08
Alex, Soton says...
6:46am Mon 9 Jun 08
southy, redbridge says...
2:05pm Mon 9 Jun 08
Jules, Southampton says...
4:36pm Mon 9 Jun 08
allsaintsnocurves wrote:I think Spitfires were also manufactured at what is now the Jaguar car factory at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham. That's what I was told when i went on a visit there once.
R J Mitchell wrote: Nice that Southampton should want to commemorate one of staffordshires finest minds, R J Mitchell in this way. Indeed the spitfire monument at the Castle Bromwich Jaguar factory, near Birmingham, where all but a few of these fantastic fighters were made could do with companion down south. I wonder if there will be any acknowledgement to the fact. "Spitfire, designed in Southampton by a midlander, built in Birmingham by midlanders."You should get your facts right before commenting. The Spitfire was made by Supermarine aircraft manufactures who were based in Woolston in Southampton! not in Birmingham!
southy, redbridge says...
7:52pm Mon 9 Jun 08
Ken, Stubbington says...
12:39am Tue 10 Jun 08
Your sayYourEcho
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R J Mitchell, Staffordshire says...
8:43am Thu 5 Jun 08
"Spitfire, designed in Southampton by a midlander, built in Birmingham by midlanders."