Sir Keith Park

[flycookie]

From the current weekend edition of the Financial Times.

www.ft.com/cms/s/0/789819ca-61a8-11dc-ae58-0000779fd2ac.html

A collective memory failure
By Mrs Moneypenny
Published: September 15 2007 00:21 | Last updated: September 15 2007 00:21

September 15 will be a day of celebration for the people gathered for the marriage of two friends. It is his second and her third, so by now they should know how to throw a party, and I’m sure it will be a day we remember.

Some 67 years ago, in 1940, September 15 became a day of celebration for millions. This day is now commemorated – albeit decreasingly so as that generation dies out – as Battle of Britain Day. The largest concentration of enemy aircraft ever seen came across the English coast that day, but was defeated by the Royal Air Force’s Fighter Command, whose airmen had been so famously praised by prime minister Winston Churchill a few weeks previously: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Last time I referred to a historic figure in this column, Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), I mistakenly called him Thomas. The only good outcome was that many of you wrote in about it, and it was good to “meet” you all. Many Americans owe much to Hamilton, not least those who work on Wall Street – he helped found the Bank of New York and promoted the development of the New York Stock Exchange. It is no surprise that there are many statues to him, one of the finest in Central Park.

Here in Britain, we are not quite so good at commemorating our heroes. In my opinion there were three principal architects of the historic victory that was the Battle of Britain: R.J. Mitchell, Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding and Sir Keith Park. Mitchell designed the Spitfire, the legendary aircraft, and there are many tributes to him, including statues in Stoke-on-Trent and at Solent Skies museum in Southampton; busts at Southampton university and the RAF Club, London, and a memorial stone on the site of the Supermarine works, Woolston. There is also my favourite statue of him, by Stephen Kettle, at the Science Museum in London.

Dowding is commemorated by the famous statue in the Strand, outside St Clement Danes church, where my friends’ wedding reception will be today. I commend it, and its inscription, to those of you who have a spare moment. (Goldman Sachs in London – you’re nearby. Now that the markets have slowed down and there are fewer pressing deals to be done, why not walk up and take a look?) There are also memorials in a park in Moffat, Dumfriesshire, the town of his birth; in Royal Tunbridge Wells where he died; and there is a bust of him at Winchester College, where he went to school. His ashes are interred in Westminster Abbey, and the Dowding Centre at the School of Fighter Control at RAF Boulmer is named after him.

But what of Sir Keith Park? A New Zealander by birth, who had survived two of the bloodiest battles of the first world war, he is, in my opinion, perhaps the most influential of the three. I am not alone. In 1947, Lord Tedder, then in charge of the RAF, said: “If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save not only this country but the world.”

What memorials are there to this man, whose marshalling of men and machines ultimately put paid to Hitler’s goal of invading Britain? Well, there’s an aviation collection and a school in New Zealand, a road named Keith Park Crescent in Biggin Hill, Kent, and ... er ... that’s it. I think this is a disgrace, and before Sir Keith Park’s memory is extinguished, let us correct it. I see that the personal interests of our current Air Chief Marshal, Sir Glenn Torpy, include military history (as well as hill walking and cabinet-making), so perhaps I should try to meet him and press my case. I’ll keep you posted.

As far as I am aware, apart from the crescent in Kent the only UK memorial to Sir Keith Park is locomotive number 34053, one of the Battle of Britain class, commissioned by the Southern Railway in 1947. After a series of owners, and being sold at one point for spare parts, it is now safely in the hands of Southern Locomotives Limited, a not-for-profit organisation that restores, maintains and runs steam locomotives.

Southern Locomotives sells shares in individual locomotives, so I am buying shares in the Sir Keith Park, at £250 each (www.southern-locomotives.co.uk). This may prove an even more illiquid investment than a US sub-prime mortgage derivative, but will give much more enjoyment as I follow the progress of the restoration – which I will try to visit on or near September 15 each year.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

[FlyNavy]

www.nzedge.com/heroes/park.html

[Dave Homewood]

There is a memorial to Keith Park at MOTAT II, and the airfield is named after him, but surely there's room for him to have a statue in London along with all the other great people of history there. Even Freyberg has a statue in Auckland but why not Park?

People forget he also saved Malta a year later with similar bravery and tactics.

By the way just north of the Waikato Hospital in Hamilton is a small street called Park Terrace. I wouldn't think anything of it (especially due to it's proximity next to Graham Park) however very nearby are also Dowding Street and Bader Street, as well as Cobham Drive (all famous RAF airmen) so I guess this may be named after Sir Keith Park?

I'd seriously like to make a film about his life, from his WWI and shipping days through to WWII with the Battle of Britain and Malta, etc.

[flyjoe180]

I didnt realise Cobham Drive was named after a famous pilot. There is one in Wellington too.

[smithy]

admin said:

By the way just north of the Waikato Hospital in Hamilton is a small street called Park Terrace. I wouldn't think anything of it (especially due to it's proximity next to Graham Park) however very nearby are also Dowding Street and Bader Street, as well as Cobham Drive (all famous RAF airmen) so I guess this may be named after Sir Keith Park?

Slightly off-topic but talking of famous Kiwi WWII pilots with streets named after them, there's a Cobber Kain Ave in Marton.

[Dave Homewood]

Sir Alan Cobham was a very famous figure in the 1920's and '30's for his Flying Circus and his long distance flights.

[flyjoe180]

I had never heard of Cobham, but should have guessed that most names around an airport would be aviation oriented. Thanks for the info .

[Dave Homewood]

Have a look here for a brief resume'

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Cobham

[30sqnatc]

I always assumed the various Cobham Drives, streets etc were named after Lord Cobham; Seventh Baron Lyttelton; Baron of Frankley, Co. Worcester, in Great Britain; Baron Westcote of Ballymore in Ireland; and a Baronet and Ninth Governor-General of New Zealand.

Paul

[andyc]

smithy said:

Slightly off-topic but talking of famous Kiwi WWII pilots with streets named after them, there's a Cobber Kain Ave in Marton.

Keeping the thread drift going, The November issue of Flypast has a feature on the Shuttleworth Trust's Gladiator - currently painted in the colours of K7985 - as flown by Cobber Kain when he was with 73 squadron in 1938.



Andy

[Dave Homewood]

Paul, you may well be right. I was only guessing on that one, but I'm certain of Dowding and Bader Streets.

K7985 was also flown by Kiwi Dereck 'Bill' Kain too while he was with No. 73 Squadron.

[smithy]

K7985 is famous because of the display Cobber gave in her at the 1938 Empire Air Day. Many RAF personnel who saw it said it was one of the most stunning displays of airmanship and piloting they had ever seen.

Cobber at his split-arse best.

[Radialicious]

Halswell in CHCH has its own Checketts Ave.

Off topic, Blenheim has SAFE, Argosy and Bristol streets.

[Dave Homewood]

I noted on the news recently when some chap was killed at Bell Block, New Plymouth, a street sign saying de Havilland Street. Obviously named for the No. 2 EFTS Moths and Tiger Moths that once graced Bell Block's skies

[flycookie]

www.ft.com/cms/s/0/70032686-8c11-11dc-af4d-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

A monumental effort
By Mrs Moneypenny

Published: November 10 2007 00:12 | Last updated: November 10 2007 00:12

How best to remember the dead, particularly those who died defending their country? This year Armistice Day falls on the very date – the 11th day of the 11th month – on which the armistice was signed in 1918 between the Allies and Germany at Compiegne, France.

The agreement, for the cessation of hostilities on the western front, signalled the end of the first world war. Many nations will use the occasion to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Royal Air Force was in its infancy when the war ended – it came into being officially on April 1 1918. There were still casualties, even in that short time, and they are all commemorated in a memorial in St Clement Danes, the London church that serves as the central church of the RAF.

One day last month I stole a few moments of a working day to spend some quiet time in St Clement Danes.

A beautiful book is displayed under glass in the crypt, open at that day's date. When anyone who has ever served in the RAF dies, their name is set down on the relevant date. For October 25, when I was there, two names were inscribed in perfect copperplate.

I was very moved by the church, originally built in the 10th century, rebuilt by William the Conqueror a century later and then pulled down and rebuilt several more times, most notably by Wren in 1681, before the Luftwaffe did for it in 1941, leaving only the steeple and walls. The interior of the church was rebuilt and dedicated to the RAF in 1958. I commend it to you.

One plaque contains the names of all the first world war casualties but the second world war claimed the lives of more than 116,000 men and women of the Air Forces of the Commonwealth. We will never know the final resting place of many of them and they are remembered on memorials at El Alamein in Egypt, Singapore, Malta and Ottawa, Canada. Those lost from bases in the UK and northern and western Europe are commemorated at the Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede. Appropriately, this moving place overlooks the Thames and the field where Magna Carta, the document that sets out man's basic rights under law, was signed by King John in 1215. I am not given to quoting Queen Elizabeth II, but the dedicatory speech she gave in October 1953 is displayed there and is worth borrowing from as we remember the fallen this weekend: '' … for as long as freedom flourishes on the earth, the men and women who possess it will thank them … ''

Back at St Clement Danes, several other books commemorate particular sections of the RAF. I was drawn to the one that lists everyone killed in action in the Battle of Britain, defined as those from the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm, which were under the control of Fighter Command between July 10 and October 31 1940. You may recall from a previous column that I remain astonished that Sir Keith Park is not personally commemorated – Park ran the air defence of London and south-east England, and it was largely thanks to him that so much of London, including so many Wren churches, remains with us today. The Battle of Britain monument on the Embankment bears his name, but no statue of the man himself exists anywhere.

Since I wrote that piece, on Battle of Britain Day, things have moved on. A benefactor has offered (through the letters column of the FT) to underwrite the cost of erecting a statue, and a campaign is under way to position it on the vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, at the heart of the city that Park saved and within sight of New Zealand House (Sir Keith was born in New Zealand).

Trafalgar Square is under the control of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and he has delegated the decision on what occupies the fourth plinth to a group of commissioners, who seem convinced that what London needs is a series of increasingly abstract works of art. None of those commissioners could enjoy a free London now were it not for Sir Keith and those who served in the RAF in the summer of 1940. Perhaps we, and they, should listen to our monarch and thank those who fought so hard for our freedom – and what better way to do so than with a statue of Sir Keith Park?

To join me in campaigning for the statue, write to the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, c/o Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

FlyCookie writes: The church is just as good as described. Happily, it now has its own website, with plenty of info and good pics. I once went to Christmas Carols (with mulled wine and nibbles, no less) in the crypt, which was utterly bloody perfect. Here's the URL - www.st-clement-danes.co.uk/

[vgp]

Push to recognise Kiwi war hero
Mar 8, 2008 7:14 AM


A campaign to erect a memorial in Trafalgar Square for a New Zealand war hero is being launched in London on Saturday.

The Sir Keith Park memorial campaign has been kick-started by London financier Kerry Smith, who will fund the memorial if it gets the go ahead.

History Professor Vincent Orange says he agrees with Royal Air Force Marshal Lord Tedder, who after the war said "if any one man won the Battle of Britain it was Sir Keith".

Orange says Sir Keith made all the decisions about the actual sharp end of the fighting.

He says it would also be a way to acknowledge more than 100 Kiwis who flew in the battle.

tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1624737

[vgp]

London pedestal for Kiwi hero
5:00AM Saturday March 08, 2008
By Ashleigh Bennett

A New Zealander who became one of the great heroes of World War II is being nominated to get a lasting tribute in London's Trafalgar Square.

A campaign was launched overnight in Britain to put up a statue of Sir Keith Park, whose leadership during the Battle of Britain helped stave off the German Air Force.

Some historians refer to Sir Keith _ air commander over London and Southeast England _ as London's neglected hero.

Businessman and historian Terry Smith wants the statue to join those of King George VI and 19th-century British generals Sir Henry Havelock and Sir Charles James Napier at Trafalgar Square to remedy that neglect.

The Battle of Britain victory in 1940 is regarded by many as a turning point in the war. "Hitler's failure to beat the RAF in 1940 forced him to call off his plans for invading Britain," said Mr Smith, who has committed $240,000 to the project.

"Had Park lost, think what our future might have been."

The campaign, officially launched at 11.30 last night (NZT), has won support among historians and politicians, including Boris Johnson MP, General Lord Guthrie and Dr Stephen Bungay.


His statue would stand on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth, empty of a permanent fixture since it was built in 1841.

A spokesman for the New Zealand High Commission said the statue would help to tell people about Sir Keith's "vital contribution".

Sir Keith was born in Thames in 1892. He fought in World War I but was wounded and deemed unfit to ride a horse.

He joined the Air Force and led the aerial defence of Britain. After the war, Lord Tedder, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, said of Sir Keith: "If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world.www.sirkeithpark.com

SIR KEITH PARK

* Born in Thames in 1892.

* Fought in World War I but was wounded and declared "unfit to ride a horse".

* Joined the British Royal Flying Corps and led the Air Force Squadron that defended British skies during World War II.

* Awarded the Military Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.

* Considered one of the greatest commanders in the history of aerial warfare.

* Returned to New Zealand after the war and had several terms on the Auckland City Council until his death in 1975, aged 82.

www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=359&objectid=10496857


A campaign is underway to obtain official recognition of the New Zealander who's credited with winning the Battle of Britain in World War II.

English businessman Terry Smith wants a statue erected in Trafalgar Square to recognise Sir Keith Park, who led the Royal Air Force 11 Group Fighter Command in 1940.

Mr Smith says he wants to honour Sir Keith, as he believes he's the single greatest commander there has ever been in aero-warfare.

He says supporters of the campaign include prominent British politicians, the military and Sir Keith's family.

A proposal is being prepared for consideration by the Mayor of London and Westminster City Council.

Sir Keith was born in Thames and returned to New Zealand after World War II. He died in 1975.

www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200803080917/1fbce14a

Battle of Britain hero statue call
7 hours ago

A Battle of Britain hero should be honoured with a statue on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, campaigners have said.

The Chief of the Air Staff, historians and politicians are calling for a monument to honour Sir Keith Park, who commanded RAF squadrons which defended London and the South East during the Second World War.

The campaign is being launched in Trafalgar Square, where a full-size replica Spitfire is due to be displayed.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy said: "A World War I fighter ace and highly-decorated airman, Sir Keith's illustrious military career spanned over 30 years during which he progressed from being an enlisted soldier to Air Chief Marshal.

"It is an appropriate tribute to a man whose courage and resourcefulness were central to victory during the Battle of Britain and whose accomplishments are in the finest traditions of the Royal Air Force."

At the end of the war, Lord Tedder, Marshal of the RAF, said: "If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world."

Historian and author of The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain, Dr Stephen Bungay, said: "Like Wellington, Park was never defeated in battle. His record makes him, without rival, the greatest commander in the short history of air warfare."

Sir Keith, a New Zealander, went on to defend Malta in 1942 and reached the rank of Air Chief Marshall.

The fourth plinth was built in 1841 to hold a statue of William IV astride a horse, but remained empty due to insufficient funds.

In 1999, the Greater London Authority assumed responsibility for the fourth plinth and commissioned some highly controversial temporary pieces including Marc Quinn's sculpture of Alison Lapper, a pregnant women who was born with no arms or legs.

ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMqcaHtR5PDWpBbctrVMt_gxNsqQ

Battle of Trafalgar Square
Alex Stephens, Evening Standard
07.03.08
Fight for Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth
The plinth parade
Plinth 'should honour hero who led Battle of Britain'
Trafalgar Square sculpture to be unveiled next month
Fighter pilots who flew in the Second World War gathered in Trafalgar Square today to call for a permanent memorial to an unsung hero of the Battle of Britain.

Against the backdrop of a replica Spitfire, the veterans were joined by MPs and senior RAF officers to launch a bid to place a statue of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park on the square's fourth plinth.

The campaign is being led by City philanthropist Terry Smith, who is willing to spend more than £100,000 on a bronze sculpture of Sir Keith.

The New Zealander and First World War fighter ace, who died in 1975 aged 83, is credited with masterminding the RAF defence of Britain against the Luftwaffe.

Sir Douglas Bader said Sir Keith had borne the "awesome responsibility" for ensuring Britain's survival against German planes, while Lord Tedder, as Marshal of the RAF, said of him: "If any man won the Battle of Britain he did."

Mr Smith, chief executive of trading house Tullett Predom, says the statue would be a more fitting use of the plinth than its current role as a showcase for contemporary art. He said: "It is unbelievable that there is no recognition of a man who made such a massive contribution to Britain's defence. The Germans called him the defender of London. If you look around the square, there are admirals and generals but no statues of anyone in the RAF."

Mayor Ken Livingstone said there were more suitable locations for a statue, adding: "I support a permanent national memorial to Sir Keith Park in London."

The plinth is currently occupied by Model For A Hotel by German artist Thomas Sch¸tte, which is expected to be in place for 18 months

A last marker of the U.K. as a sovereign country. A reminder of its great past. Great idea.

- Phil Jones, London UK

Statues of Dowling, Park & Lee-Mallory should be united on one plinth. They may have argued in life but in concert they certainly saved Britain

- Jon, london

I think this is a wonderful gesture that Terry Smith should be doing this. My late father was in the RAF and I know that he was very proud and he went through so much in the war along with all the others at that time. I think that youngsters who were too young to know and general public who have forgotten need to be reminded of what this country went through to be as we are today.

- Ruth, London, England

www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23450300-details/Battle+of+Trafalgar+Square/article.do

[Dave Homewood]

Why is there not a statue to Sir Keith Park in NZ? He's one of our greatest New Zealanders, up there with Bernard Freyberg and Ed Hillary who each have statues. We need to have a memorial too so people won't forget him in his own country.

What do people think?

I was talking about this with John Chrisp, the aviation artist that many of you lot met at tyhe Waikato forum gathering. He suggested that a statue to Sir Keith needs to be erected in NZ and put the idea in my head, hence my post here.

John said that though Motat's airfield and aircraft collection are named after Park, he couldn't find anyone there last weekend who knew who he was! He was told by the duty manager when he enquired about Park that 'all Sir Keith's items are over there' and pointed to the Bomber Command section! Even the manager at the Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield doesn't know he was in Fighter Command! So if that's the case, what about our schoolkids!

[stu]

A story on 3 News tonight - at this stage (subject to change) it'll be in the second break, 18:17 according to the rundown.

[flycookie]

From the Financial Times.

www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6e19fc5a-e8c3-11dc-913a-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

A place fit for heroes

By Mrs Moneypenny

Published: March 8 2008 00:22 | Last updated: March 8 2008 00:22

In the first half of the 19th century, there raged in the newspapers of the day a great public debate. A military hero, long dead, remained – shamefully – uncommemorated. Money for a memorial was readily available, without troubling the public purse, having been raised by public subscription from those who appreciated his contribution to saving England from defeat by the French.

A statue was eventually commissioned, but even then that was not the end of the matter. There remained the vexed question of where it should stand. Trafalgar Square was proposed, but such was the resistance from a number of prominent people that the question was considered by parliament. After the matter went to a vote Trafalgar Square won the day and up went the statue of Horatio Nelson.

But fast forward to 2008. A military hero, long dead, remains – shamefully – uncommemorated. Money for a memorial is readily available, without troubling the public purse, because it has been raised from a successful businessman. That businessman is also a military historian who appreciates the contribution that this individual made to saving England (and particularly London) from, in this case, the Nazis.

A statue has been commissioned from a leading New Zealand sculptor, an appropriate choice since the long-dead hero was of New Zealand origin.

But there remains the vexed question of where the statue is to be sited. Trafalgar Square has been proposed, but there is some resistance. And this time the debate cannot be considered by parliament because the mayor of London now has authority over Trafalgar Square.

Regular readers of this column will know that the sadly ignored hero I refer to is Royal Air Force officer Sir Keith Park. In February 1947 Lord Tedder, Chief of the Air Staff, said of him: “If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world.”

The obvious site for a memorial to Sir Keith is the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, within sight of the New Zealand High Commission and alongside other military heroes to whom we owe so much, including Nelson. But the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has delegated the decision over what will occupy the fourth plinth to the Fourth Plinth Commissioners, who have initiated a programme of contemporary art commissions. The next commission, from a shortlist of six, will be announced this spring. I have nothing against modern art (even if I don’t understand much of it), but I do believe there are more appropriate places for it in London than Trafalgar Square.

On Friday, RAF representatives and RAF veterans of the Battle of Britain, gathered in Trafalgar Square, alongside a full-size replica Spitfire, to launch a campaign to persuade the commissioners that a memorial to Sir Keith would be so much more appropriate. I urge all of you, and not just Londoners, to visit the campaign website www.sirkeithpark.com to see how you can help.

Those of us who live in London have a separate opportunity to make our voices heard, because a mayoral election will be held on May 1.

So here are a few facts that everyone, London voters especially, might wish to consider. All of the pieces being considered by the Fourth Plinth Commissioners will cost London taxpayers a considerable sum.

The statue of Sir Keith Park will cost them nothing.

Trafalgar Square is a national public space of such significance that Hitler had planned to remove its contents to Germany had Operation Sealion, his invasion plan, succeeded. The square has several memorials for the navy and the army, but not one for the Royal Air Force. And there is no memorial of any note to Sir Keith Park in the city that he did so much to save.

There are still people who remember Sir Keith. Let us act while they are still with us. I would like to think that in 2010, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, I could take my children and show them the statue of Sir Keith Park, standing next to that of Horatio Nelson. For without the former, the latter would almost certainly no longer be there.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008