A stunning new life-size Supermarine Spitfire made from crochet has been installed in the Town Hall Gardens on Lord Street in Southport.
The eye-catching artwork has been created by community groups including Southport Royal British Legion, Southport Hookers, Merseyside Polonia and others, with the support of Sefton Council, after eight months of careful planning and meticulous work.
The aircraft features a Polish emblem which appeared on the Spitfire flown by Polish pilots who were based at RAF Woodvale on the edge of Southport during World War Two.
The Spitfire will be in the Town Hall Gardens until 7th November.
Stuart Steel, Community Engagement Officer for the Royal British Legion, said:
“Welcome to the new crochet Spitfire, which has been created by the Southport Royal British Legion community engagement team, Southport Hookers and Merseyside Polonia in homage to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
“We have come together as a community, with several community groups, to build a full size replica crochet Spitfire.
“This is to recognise the contribution of all pilots from all nations who flew in the Commonwealth air forces including the Free French, the Polish air forces and others, to defend the skies of Southport and the North West in World War Two.
“I would also like to thank Adventure Coast Southport for allowing us to assemble our Spitfire at their park before we transported it to the Town Hall Gardens.”
Polish pilots were transferred to defend the skies above the North West in a direct response to the relentless bombing of Liverpool and Bootle during The Blitz period of the war. Several German bombs also fell on Southport during this time.
308 Krakowski Squadron was the first flying squadron to make the move to RAF Woodvale, which opened as a fighter base in October 1941, and as the crews settled in 315 Deblinski and 317 Wilenski Squadrons followed.
A total of 145 Polish fighter pilots served in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, making up the largest non-British contribution. By the end of the war, around 19,400 Poles were serving in the Polish Air Force in Great Britain and in the RAF.
During World War Two The Atkinson in Southport held numerous events such as concerts and an exhibition of work by Polish artists to help fund the Polish servicemen.
Today Sefton is still the home to many people of Polish descent.
According to Sefton Libraries, RAF Woodvale opened on 25th October 1941, with the initial aim of defending Liverpool and its docks. It followed the devastating German bombing during the 1941 Blitz.
But with air raids on Liverpool declining the main purpose of the airfield changed. Squadrons were brought up from RAF Northolt in the south of England for short rest and recuperation periods.
At its peak RAF Woodvale hosted three frontline squadrons, numerous support squadrons and more than 2,000 personnel.
The station buildings included: three Bellman hangars, Squadron Headquarters, administration, engineering, armament, air raid shelters, communal areas, mess, sick quarters, operations and wireless telegraphy sites. Living quarters were located on Southport Road at a safe distance away.
A total of 22 pilots lost their lives at RAF Woodvale, including nine pilots from Polish squadrons.
Six of the Polish airmen, aged between just 22 and 28 years old, are buried in war graves at Our Lady of Compassion Church in Formby.
A well-tended war memorial in memory of members of the Polish Armed Forces who fought in the Second World War between 1939 and 1945 is situated in the War Memorial gardens on Lord Street in Southport.
Britain faced a grim struggle for survival during World War II, most notably during The Battle Of Britain, when the Luftwaffe laid siege in overwhelming numbers.
Britain survived by the skin of its teeth – in no small part thanks to the Polish fighter pilots who swelled the RAF’s numbers at such a critical time.
Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who was initially reluctant to allow Polish pilots into battle, said: “Had it not been for the magnificent work of the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of battle would have been the same.”
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