Kingston Aviation Memorial

Plans are afoot to erect an impressive memorial to Kingston's aviation industry. The site chosen is in the pedestrian area on the town side of Kingston Bridge. The memorial itself will be an elegant curved polished stainless steel column sweeping to the vertical and carrying a polished model of a Hawker Hunter, some 30 feet up, at its tip.

The Kingston Aviation Memorial Fund Trustees, all former members of Hawker's (Cliff Bore, Chris Farara, Ralph Hooper, Mike Hoskins, Gordon Jefferson and Trevor Jordan) have been working with the Kingston Council for some years to arrive at an agreed design and site in the town centre.

The chosen design, besides commem-orating this most important of Kingston's industries, started by TOM Sopwith in 1912, will add to the

visual excitement of the town, being clearly visible down the length of Clarence Street, along Horse Fair, across the Bridge approaching the town and from the river banks.

Initial funds are shortly to be used for Project Definition including the preparation of drawings and cost estimates and the achievement of planning permission.

The next step will be for the Trustees to raise further funds for the construction and erection of the memorial. Support will be sought from the aerospace industry, many members of which profited from their association with Hawkers, the armed services in the UK and overseas who operated Kingston aircraft, former employees, aviation enthusiasts, the press, prominent citizens with an interest in aviation or industry, professional institutions etc.