Memorial to Czech RAF pilot František Hekl unveiled in Scotland
A memorial dedicated to Czech pilot František Hekl was unveiled on Sunday at Loch Doon in Scotland. During the Second World War, he served with the 312th Czechoslovak Squadron of the British Royal Air Force (RAF). In October 1941, during a training flight, his plane crashed into the lake, and he did not survive the accident. He was 26 years old.
Despite the rainy weather, over 100 people attended the unveiling of the memorial at Loch Doon. Among them was František Hekl's grandnephew, Vlastimil, who said that his grandfather would be proud of the commemoration.
Before the unveiling, the memorial was covered with a parachute from the museum where Hekl's Spitfire is on display.
Czech Radio spoke to Peter Howieson, director of the Dumfries Aviation Museum and one of those who managed to locate the plane’s wreckage in the mid-1980s, retrieve it from the lake, and help restore it, about the aircraft’s history:
“This aircraft has an extensive history going back to the middle of the Battle of Britain in 1940. It was flown by different pilots and saw a lot of action before ending up with the Czech squadron as almost a training Spitfire towards the end of its service life.
“We're still discovering more and more about this Spitfire through records. We're uncovering details about the pilots who flew it and where it operated. It has a very rich history.”
Howieson says that the Spitfire is the biggest attraction at the museum, also because of the fascinating story of František Hekl:
“The story is fascinating, especially once you know what František Hekl went through, fleeing from the Czech Air Force, escaping to Poland, joining the Polish Air Force, getting captured by the Russians, escaping, going to India, then finally reaching the UK and joining the RAF. It’s quite a remarkable journey. Sadly, not long after all that, he was killed at Loch Doon.”
The director added that it had been a long journey not only to find the aircraft but also to rebuild it:
“It probably took the better part of 25 years or more. For many years, we didn’t even have a workshop, just a polytunnel on-site. If we’d had proper facilities like we do now, it would have been very different.
“We also didn’t have the money to buy missing parts. We either had to make them ourselves, repair damaged ones, or wait until we could afford to acquire them. It was a slow process. Many people contributed over the years, but we lacked the knowledge, facilities, tools, and funds to do it quickly.”
The memorial was designed by academic painter Pavel Holý and created by local stonemason Kevin Roberts from the Doon Valley. It depicts the wing of a Spitfire fighter plane plunging into the water, commemoratinghová and Chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová, among others. the tragic accident of 1941.
The production and installation of the memorial was fully funded by the Czech Ministry of Defense in collaboration with the Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum, where Hekl's Spitfire is on display. Hekl is the second Czech pilot to have his own memorial in Great Britain.
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