History
In 1941, the residents of Lytham St. Annes took part in the War Office Spitfire Fund saving scheme. Residents of all ages donated pocket money, savings and what spare cash they had left to help raise the £6000 needed for the Borough's own Spitfire. The amount was matched by the Ministry of Aircraft Production and although £6000 does not sound a lot – by today’s prices it would have been the equivalent of almost £212,441 based on the Retail Price Increases since 1941 or a massive £735,441 based on the increase in the average wage from 1941 until today. The overall cost for a Spitfire was approximately £10,000.
The Spitfire was a Mark VB, given the tail number W3644. Although there has been some debate about this information being correct we have now had confirmation from the MOD and the Lancashire Archivists Office which confirm this with the original Air Minsitry documentation. Our research has pieced together the background of the last mission of W3644. RAF Records show that on the 23rd June 1942 W3644 took off from RAF Hutton Cranswick on a Rhubarb mission escorting bombers on a raid over Morlaix in France. Following the mission the escort was bounced by Focke Wulf 190’s. W3644 did not return, her pilot, Sgt Alan Lever Ridings aged just 20 of 19 Squadron RAF is posted as killed in action. We have now traced the surviving family of Alan, his sister Joan Selka, now living in Bingley in West Yorkshire.
The replica Spitfire will carry these original markings of W3644 and will carry the Lytham St. Annes name in tribute not only to the brave pilots who flew her but also to mark the generosity of those people that donated what little they had to the War effort.