The Last of The Few

Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few

The remains of a man who is thought to be the last recoverable Battle of Britain pilot are to be removed from from a site in Kent. Flt Sgt Williams remains, who was 28 at the time, will be recovered from a site in Albion Parade, Gravesend, today.

His aircraft smashed through a timber yard roof and embedded itself deeply into the earthen floor, defying attempts to recover the pilot’s body at the time.

Two previous attempts to find his remains failed because the recovery teams were unable to pinpoint the precise location of the crash site. New ground mapping radar equipment was used to successfully locate Flt Sgt Williams remains at Albion Parade.

A Hawker Hurricane carried out a fly-past over Gravesend at 11am as a tribute to his wartime exploits, and as a mark of respect all participants and guests will stay silent while his remains are transferred to the coroner’s vehicle and it leaves the site.

The Ministry of Defence said the remains of another Battle of Britain pilot were at a location in Chart Sutton, Kent, but there were no plans to disturb the resting place as a memorial garden existed at the crash site.

Flt Sgt Williams, who was born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire in 1912, was married to Joan Williams at the time of his death. She remarried and emigrated to Canada after the war.