The NHS Spitfire Project

Today the special ‘Thank you NHS’ Spitfire performed moving tribute flights over local NHS hospitals. I saw it in the far distance, fly over Bodmin Community Hospital from where I was but Dad caught this brilliant photo as it approached our local hospital, Newquay Community Hospital, over Trenance Viaduct.

The iconic World War II Spitfire aeroplane flew over Devon and Cornwall this weekend as part of the Special NHS Spitfire initiative. In return for a donation, people have been able to nominate the name of a loved one to be handwritten onto the 'Thank U NHS' spitfire that has been seen around the United Kingdom. Members of the public are invited to nominate names to go on the aircraft as a way of recognising small acts of kindness through the coronavirus pandemic, with the Spitfire having a capacity for 80,000 names.

The Spitfire used for the “Thank U NHS” scheme was specifically built and used for photo-reconnaissance during World War Two, carrying cameras instead of weapons, and it was also air-raced by famous female ATA pilot Lettice Curtis, whose signature appears on the aircraft.

The initiative echoes the “Spitfire funds” that occurred during the 1940s that were set up by local communities around the United Kingdom and wider commonwealth countries to encourage a “sense of purpose and hope in the struggle against adversity.”

https://www.aircraftrestorationcompany.com/nhsspitfire