Memorial plaque for RAF Spitfire crash pilot to be unveiled

A plaque honouring an RAF pilot who died in a Spitfire crash has been unveiled.

Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when his plane, which belonged to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), crashed in a field near RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on 25 May 2024.

The commemorative plaque was installed in the village of Market Stainton, near Market Rasen, and unveiled during a dedication ceremony at 13:00 BST.

On the day of his death, Sqn Ldr Long, 43, had been due to fly over the village as part of a remembrance ceremony for the crew of a Lancaster bomber, which crashed nearby in 1943, organisers said.

The plaque for Sqn Ldr Long was organised by Dan Grant, who was also involved in the memorial event for the Lancaster crew.

His cousin, Flying Officer Francis Archie Randall, was the pilot of the bomber when it came down in the village on its return from a raid on Berlin on 16 December 1943.

Mr Grant, a retired airline captain and aviation historian who lives in Quebec, Canada, raised money for a memorial dedicated to Flying Officer Randall – who was just 21 when he died – and the rest of the crew.

He said Sqn Ldr Long had been on his way to perform a fly-past at a dedication ceremony for the memorial when his Spitfire crashed.

Mr Grant said he decided to pay tribute to Sqn Ldr Long with a new plaque in his honour, which had been sponsored by the RAF.

He paid tribute to Sqn Ldr Long as a man who “dedicated himself to preserving the history of the RAF, as well as defending the freedoms we now enjoy”, adding that he could not be “more proud” of him.

Sqn Ldr Mark Sugden, the commanding officer of the BBMF, attended the memorial event and described Sqn Ldr Long as a “dear friend”.

“He’s the person that everybody wants to be – so incredibly selfless, so incredibly gifted, but so incredibly humble with it. He was genuinely an inspiration to us all,” he said.

The BBMF fleet was grounded after the crash, but has since been cleared for flying and is due to take part in events during this year’s display season.