Kingston Aviation Heritage

Many of you will already know about the memorial to Kingston's aviation industry which a 'Hawker' committee has been working on for some years, with the Kingston Borough Council.

The Memorial Project aims to educate the public in Kingston's remarkable aviation history. The centrepiece will be an imposing column conceived by aviation artist and designer, Keith Maddison. Its upwardly sweeping lines and polished metal surfaces aim to capture the spirit of modern aviation. An elegant model Hawker Hunter climbing skyward at the top of this 30 ft column was chosen to represent the beauty and effectiveness of Kingston fighters.

Near the base will be matching lecterns presenting panels of information on Tom Sopwith, his partner Fred Sigrist, his test pilot Harry Hawker, and Sydney Camm, his most illustrious Chief Designer. A fifth panel will commemorate all those who worked in the Kingston factories. The panels will be decorated with bas reliefs of the founders and the aircraft.

Directions to the Kingston Museum will also be given where a comprehensive historical electronic educational display will guide visitors to the memorial column and to the Sopwith and Hawker factory sites in the town which are marked with plaques

The column will be sited in the pedestrian area on the town side of Kingston Bridge and will be visible from the town and the river

At present a contract is in place with a major civil engineering firm to prepare a fully costed project definition study and to obtain formal planning permission. Once the costs are known and planning permission obtained, fund raising will start in earnest. Meanwhile, the Trustees hope that sales of Trevor Jordan's philatelic cover (see below) will swell the initial funds.