'Huge privilege' to remember pilots with plaque

The nephew of a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who has been commemorated with a newly-unveiled plaque has said it was "a huge privilege" to honour his uncle's memory.

The plaque remembers Pilot Officers Robert Chippindall Dafforn DFCand Michael Featherstone Briggs, who both flew in the Battle of Britain.

It was unveiled at St. Piran's School in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on Friday - where both men attended as children.

Air Marshal Sir Ian Macfadyen, nephew of Pilot Officer Dafforn, said his death aged 27 was "a terrible loss" to the family.

"We always honour Uncle Bob," he said.

"To be associated with [the Battle of Britain] is something rather special to our family."

Pilot Officer Dafforn was killed in 1943 when his Spitfire crashed as he was returning to the airfield from an exercise.

Pilot Officer Briggs was killed in 1941 at the age of 20 after his aircraft got lost in fog, causing him to crash near the village of Whashton in North Yorkshire.

His nephew, Supreme Court Judge Lord Michael Briggs, said his uncle was "the apple of my grandmother's eye" and to remember him at the event on Friday was a "wonderful opportunity".

"I've known about him and admired him since I was a child but never had the chance to stand up and say so in a relatively public place," he said.

Stephen Bristowe, the Berkshire area manager for the Battle of Britain Historical Society, said the organisation tried to offer plaques to any school where pilots attended.

He said the one unveiled on Friday was in the school's chapel, where the students visited once a week.

"The hope is that it will actually start the pupils talking about the Battle of Britain and asking questions so we can actually keep their memory alive," he said.

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