Bloke shocks neighbours after putting a full-size WW2 Spitfire aircraft in his backyard
Aviation enthusiast Ian Fox, 55, has elected to stick a full-size Spitfire in his garden – he said gnomes were not an alternative option because ‘you’d never see them’
A man has surprised his neighbours by placing a full-size Spitfire in his garden. Aviation enthusiast Ian Fox, 55, has a huge fibreglass replica of the iconic World War Two fighter plane, which is 30ft long and 36ft wide, parked on his lawn.
The hollow model of a Spitfire MK IX was originally on display at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, where it was used for re-enactments, but it was damaged in a storm and later moved to the Fenland Aviation Museum. When the museum closed, Ian bought it and he has spent the last two years meticulously repairing and re-painting it.
Ian has also added his wife’s name, “Helen” on the side, to make up for the amount of space it takes up in the garden.
He said: “I couldn’t go and buy a couple of gnomes because you’d never see them. It’s nice to have a garden feature and everyone likes to see it,” he said. “I think it’s more for the pleasure of other people, than me. They can’t believe I have a full-size Spitfire in my garden and stop their cars and pose for pictures.
“We get several people dropping by each week, they like to tell me their own stories and I enjoy chatting to them all.”
In January, hero RAF fighter ace Jack Hemmings, who flew Spitfrires during World War Two, sadly passed away,
Jack launched a charity which flies humanitarian aid to isolated communities following his service, which saw him protect the Bay of Bengal from Japanese invasion during the World War Two. He died on January 24 in hospital in Sussex aged 103, his charity Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) announced.
Known to many as “lovely Jack”, his family said he left the world a better place.
Mr Hemmings co-founded humanitarian aid service MAF in the aftermath of the Second World War alongside D-Day veteran Stuart King – a former RAF engineer who died in 2020.
The pair took on the first British mission to survey the humanitarian needs of isolated communities across Central Africa in 1948, visiting more than 100 aid and mission outposts.
Last February, he took to the sky in a Spitfire, flying the aircraft for the first time, from Biggin Hill airfield to raise money for MAF, describing being back behind the controls as “absolutely delightful”. He is believed to be the oldest British pilot to fly a Spitfire.
Jack was awarded the Air Force Cross for exemplary gallantry while flying and also received the RAF’s Master Air Pilot award.
Born in Bentham, Yorkshire, in 1921, his flying career began when he volunteered to join the RAF aged 19 and saw him survive several crashes which eventually earned him the nickname “Crasher Jack”.
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