News| Heroes remembered


downsmail.co.uk Memorial to heroic pilot Pease


AT the height of the Battle of Britain, a young man of just 22 revved up the engine of his stricken Spitfire to avoid crashing into homes in Kingswood.


This selfless act in the last sec-


onds of Flying Officer (Arthur) Peter Pease’s short life would be- come typical of the sacrifices RAF pilots made in the aerial conflict over Kent and which was forever captured inWinstonChurchill’s as- sessment of our debt to The Few. As Britain sent callowyoungsters


into the skies to repelAdolfHitler’s advancing hordes, so the new air- borne heroes, about 600 of them that summer, were freshly minted in an instant. On the afternoon of September


15, 1940, having been hit some- where above the county town, FO Pease had guided the Spitfire out towards


farmland where it


crashed. Hurtling earthwards, he found


just enough extra power to “gun” his fighter plane’s dying engine to take it beyond Kingswood’s homes, thus avoiding death or in- jury to countless villagers. The dead pilot was still strapped into his seat when villagers ran to the wreckage.


‘The young pilot shone during his short volunteer service...’


Flyer had been tipped for a high office


PETER Pease was tipped for great things, having been born into a great northern fam- ily.


Dashing, clever and withmatinee idol


looks, he was a high achiever at Eton and Cambridge and he was talked of as a future cabinetminister, perhaps Foreign Secretary. After his death in Kent, his body was re-


moved and buried inMiddletonMyas churchyard, near Richmond, in Yorkshire. The Pease family were successful bankers,


coalmerchants, railway pioneers and politi- cians.


So, on February 15, a century to


the day after his birth, a more per- manent reminder was unveiled to this remarkable man’s memory at the junction of Gravelly Bottom Road and Duck Pond Road. For years, a lime tree hasmarked


the spot in the middle of farmer Nigel Edmed’s field, but nowame- morial, commissioned by a semi- retired law professor at


the


University ofCalifornia, JohnOak- ley, stands as a visible and accessi- blemarker. Prof Oakley, fascinated by the


Pease family’s colourful history, had made the bronze plaque, which was then inlaid to the gran- ite memorial at the Stone Shop of East Farleigh, run byGordonNew- ton. Helping to unveil the memorial


in front of a small, low-key gather- ing, Mr Newton – who is also a borough councillor – told how the young pilot shone during his short volunteer service. On August 30, 1940, he had


helped shoot down a Heinkel 111 and aMesserschmitt Bf109 on Sep- tember 3. Four days later, he was hit by enemy fire over London and forced


to crash-land in


Hornchurch, Essex. A week later, his luck ran out overMaidstone. Mr Newton laid a wreath to FO


Pease’s memory after borough councillor Gill Fort unveiled the plaque. She said: “It is important thatwe


do not forget the sacrifices many youngmenmade during the Battle of Britain,whichwas fought in the skies above us here in Kent. “This is a fitting and thoughtful memorial to Peter Pease.”


100 tree tribute to mark end ofWWI


THE British Legion branch covering Bearsted, Thurnham, Leeds andHollingbourne is calling on the public to help create a unique livingme- morial to celebrate the end of the First World War. The charity, working with Hollingbourne


Meadows Trust, wants to raise at least £50,000 to plant an avenue of 100 trees in time for the centenary on November 11. The ambitious project – thought to be the only


one of its kind inKent –would see anAvenue of Remembrance createdwith 100 hawthorns and a “circle of peace” in silver birches on commu- nity land in Hollingbourne. The idea, code-named Project 100, was put


forward by RBL branch chairman Derek Davi- son and hiswife Jeanne, the district’s poppy ap-


4 Maidstone East March 2018


peal co-ordinator for 30 years. MrDavison (pictured right) said: “We are ex-


tremely proud to be involved in a unique living memorial such as this. “ But itwill only happen if funding is in place


in time.We hope everyone in the areawill con- sidermaking a donation.” Mr Davison is hopeful the appeal will be


adopted by the entire branch, which has in- cluded Bearsted and Thurnhamsince its branch closed in February 1989. He says the avenue will provide a dramatic


memorial – combining blood red berries inwin- ter with white flowers of peace in May – that will be readily accessible to all. It is proposed the memorial will be the cen- trepiece at the 30 to 40-acre popular public open


space, off Eyhorne Street, donated to accom- modate the project byHollingbourneMeadows Trust,which is also backing the project. Donations can be made at www.mydonate. bt.com/charities/hollingbournemeadowstrust.


Spotwhere a hero also fell LESS than amile away fromthe newly instatedmemorial to Fly- ing Officer Peter Pease lies an- other hero. Pilot Officer W P H “Robin”


Rafter, lost his life on Novem- ber 29, 1940, some weeks after the official end of the Battle of Britain. Itwas erected in 2002. PO Rafter was the son of Sir


WilliamRafter,ChiefConstable of Birmingham. He joined the RAF on a short service commis- sion in June 1939. During an action over the


Biggin Hill area on September 5, PO Rafter is believed to have been shot down inMarden. He was admitted to West


KentHospital,Maidstone,with head injuries and did not fly operationally again with the squadron until November 26, when he did so at his own in- sistence. He was killed when he


crashed at Kingswood in his Spitfire P7449. The plane was seen to drop


out of formation and crash to the ground. His familywere convinced he


had returned to duty too early and that he had blacked out from his unhealed head in- juries.


downsmail.co.uk


LEEDS Castle boss Sir David Steel has revealed that a medieval altar piece which once hung in an estate building has been restored at Cam- bridge University. An ancient “retable” – defined as


a frame or shelf enclosing deco- rated panels or revered objects above and behind an altar - will be put on public display in the chapel. Writing in the Leeds and Broom-


field parish magazine, Sir David said: “The ancientmedieval retable, which once hung in Battel Hall, is soon to return to the castle after restoration at Cambridge Univer- sity. “This is a piece of immense his-


Relief at road progress: county council- lor Gary Cooke andWILLact pressure group campaigner Jenny Sutton


News Altar piece returns to castle


torical significance and will, by the end of February, be on public dis- play in the castle chapel.” Renovationwork on BattelHall, in


Burberry Lane, is almost complete and will be open to paying guests bymid-March. Sir David added: “I remain very


grateful to our neighbours in the vil- lage for supporting us in this work, to bring an ancient, but dilapidated, heritage building in its own right back into the most appropriate use.” The castle has also submitted a


planning application to build a new visitors’ centre and Sir David is hopeful of approval.


Leaders in truce over relief road


SQUABBLING leaders of the county and borough authorities claim to have buried their differ- ences over the south Maidstone relief road at a peace summit or- ganised byMPs Helen Grant and HelenWhately. Kent County Council (KCC)


leader PaulCarter (Con) andMaid- stone Borough Council (MBC) chief Fran Wilson (Lib Dem) met on February 2. The leaders and officers fromthe


authorities agreed to co-operate on a feasibility study to identify whether a Leeds-Langley by-pass would reduce congestion. The study would be carried out


by external consultants, a point seizedon by relief roadcampaigner, county councillor Gary Cooke. Several months ago, he an-


nounced the start of exploratory surveys with initial reports to be delivered to the parishes affected by the relief roadwhen completed. Cllr Cooke said: “While I am


happy to see a spirit of co-opera- tion breaking out, I am mindful that this only comes about after KCC…has already committed to undertaking the feasibility work and commissioned contractors to performtheworks.We should also


welcome the expertise of MBC as the planning authority in provid- ing that perspective. Iwould, how- ever, hope that this will also mean a real recognition of the difficulties that mitigation can present and, consequently, MBC will be more accepting of the need to apply planning constraints in south-east Maidstone.” The meeting was delayed for


months as the pair exchanged frosty letters detailing their historic positions on the relief road. Cllr FranWilson, leader ofMBC,


said: “The differences of opinion arose primarily due to some mis- understanding over the respective roles of KCC as highways author- ity andMBCas planning authority. “Hopefully, these issues have


been resolved and we can move forward in an equal partnership for the benefit of all the people of this borough.” Jenny Sutton, of relief road pres-


sure groupWILLact, said: “It is up to us to ensure this remains on course. The feasibility studies could go eitherway…toomany are watching and aware now.” Helen Whately MP said: “I was


delighted thatHelen and I brought KCC andMBC together.”


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