The £175,000 statue was unveiled in 2012 and marks Darwen's unique contribution to the war effort
The shimmering stainless steel V R7219 'Borough of Darwen' Spitfire memorial was donated to the town by local philanthropist Steve Hartley, the owner of WEC Group, in November 2012. The statue was handcrafted by WEC's apprentices and took two years to build.
That same year a campaign was launched to buy a Spitfire and, when the Borough of Darwen was accepted into service on March 26 in 1941 and allocated to 92 Squadron, Darwen became the smallest town to finance one of the fighter planes. Sadly the aircraft was lost on July 14 that same year while on escort duty in the north of France.
Many terraced houses in the town still bear the scars of their donations with metal railings cut down to the stone later given to the war effort. Darwen Heritage Centre hosts a vast amount of records relating to the town's involvement in the war including the loss of dozens of servicemen. Darwen's often little-known contribution to the war effort was recognised in 2012 when WEC installed the £175,000 sculpture. Hundreds turned out to the unveiling of the statue.
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