Memorial for tragic Spitfire pilot

A SECOND World War Spitfire pilot who died when his plane went down near Turville Heath was honoured at a remembrance service held near the crash site.

More than 60 people attended the “wild church” service on Sunday for reconnaissance pilot Peter Spencer who was killed in December 1943.

The service was led by Rev Sue Morton, who spent months researching the crash with the help of Malcolm Bailey and tracked down Peter’s surviving relatives, one of whom attended the ceremony.

She started by the dugout at Turville Heath with a moment of quiet before telling the story of how the Spitfire crashed.

Peter was part of 542 Squadron at RAF Benson, whose pilots would venture into enemy territory to take photographs from the Spitfire MB789.

The plane was not fitted with guns to avoid attracting attention and the pilots would fly solo so would have to navigate, take photographs and look out for enemy aircraft as well as fly.

Rev Morton said: “It might not sound too challenging, some might think. After all, they weren’t flying into battle.

“They weren’t scrambling into aircraft as air raid sirens went off, sitting having some banter with the boys one minute and then rushing off to climb into Spitfires the next. But Peter and his fellow pilots had equally challenging work to do. Their job was to get in, take photos of a specific site and get out again, returning the film.

“In the early days they even flew without radio so if they came down there was no way to trace them.

“It was a lonely and sometimes frightening job. Many of the pilots were scared. They didn’t know what they were flying into. Would they get back? Were they flying into the right area?

“They flew at high and low levels in all weathers in daylight and in the dark.”

The photos would be interpreted at RAF Medmenham before being sent to Hughenden for Operation Hillside in which maps were created by hand for pilots to use on bombing raids.

Rev Morton said the work carried out by Peter and his fellow pilots made a significant contribution to the war effort.

She said: “They knew how important their missions were and that it could save lives.

“As a result of these reconnaissance photos, it is likely the war was shortened but it was at a huge cost to all sides.”

On December 1, 1943, Peter’s plane set off from RAF Benson in cloudy weather with a slight drizzle and poor visibility.

His plane crashed in a field near Balham’s Lane. The pilot was buried five days later at a cemetery in Botley, Oxford.

Rev Morton visited the site of his grave after researching the crash and discovered how Peter’s family reacted to his death after asking the family history society at Phyllis Court Club in Henley to help track down relatives.

She said: “His family were understandably devastated. They didn’t speak of him but there was always a large photo of Peter in his uniform hanging in his parents’ house in Hayes.”

Rev Morton said she was delighted to welcome Peter’s niece, Val Mosedale, to the service. The 63-year-old had travelled from South Wales with her husband John.

Mrs Mosedale had not known how or where her uncle’s plane had crashed before she was contacted by Rev Morton and said she felt honoured that he was being recognised.

She said: “It’s just amazing to hear his story and I am so pleased they have devoted some of this service to him.”

Rev Morton was helped in her research by Mr Bailey, a metal detectorist who found many parts of the plane in the field where it crashed.

A cross bearing shards of metal and shrapnel from the Spitfire was placed on a table at the service alongside pictures of Peter and his fellow pilots.

As well as remembering Peter, Rev Morton spoke of the men who had trained at Turville Heath in 1944 in preparation for the
D-Day landings.

The long avenue of trees running through the hamlet mimicked the roads in France and the bunker that lies just yards from where the service was held was dug by soldiers.

Rev Morton said: “The soldiers were said to be preparing for ambushing enemy tanks in France after landing so they would hide in the dugout here and come out to practise their manoeuvres.”

Before his death earlier this year, Rev Morton spoke to resident David Wiltshire who remembered watching the soldiers train as an eight-year-old boy.

She said: “David would tell the story that one day one of the soldiers came to him and said, ‘You won’t see us after today, sonny, we’re off to the seaside’.

“I wonder how many of those people returned. So today we remember those unnamed, unknown soldiers along with our pilot Peter.

“The field where Peter died, this heath where men trained for battle, they are relatively peaceful and quiet places these days, part of our green and pleasant land, so far removed from the grime and dirt and death of the battlefield.

“We know that there is no glory in war, that God longs for a world where there is lasting peace.”

The crowd turned their heads to the sky as the service ended to see a fly-past by a Piper Cub plane being flown by James Cooling.