HOW can W Smith (Letters, May 13) say the proposed Spitfire memorial is a "feeble copycat idea''? Perhaps he is thinking of people of Southampton and students who have not seen the Spitfire flying.

I remember seeing it flying almost vertically and what a marvellous memory it is. This is just as the Spitfire should be remembered - no "pathetic naivety'' here.

CLAUDE SWAIN, Chandler's Ford.