One of the four Hurricanes famously shot down on August 18th
by Oberleutnant Schoepfel of JG26, P3089 crashed on farmland,
but in the 1950s a house was built on the land and the Hurricane
crash site ended up in the front garden. Although the location
had been known of for many years, the difficulty of fully
excavating in a well-kept garden meant a special occasion
would be needed. Just such an occasion came in May 2010 when
Pilot Officer Lee's daughter and fellow 501 Squadron pilot
'Bill' Green participated in the making of a TV documentary.
Presented by London taxi driver Harry Harris, the programme
made for the Discovery Channel features the excavaion of P3059
which was organised by Andy Saunders.
A remarkably intact Merlin was lifted from the bottom of
the hole and the aircraft's serial number, P5059, found twice
on the wreckage, confirming its identity beyond doubt.
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Built in the 1950s, the house fortunately 'missed' the
crash site by a few feet. |
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Oh dear! We'll put it back just as we found it! To
minimise damage to the lawn plywood and plastic sheets
came in handy. |
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Excavation leader Paul Cole explains the finer points
to presenter Harry Harris. |
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501 Squadron Battle of Britain pilot 'Bill' Green was
accompanied by Pilot Officer Lee's daughter. 'Bill' Green
was shot down twice in the Battle and also knew Lee after
the war. |
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Paul gives a fair idea of the depth that the Merlin
had buried itself to.
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Andy Saunders (left) takes things easy, while Martin
Mace (editor of Britain at War magazine) photographs Kenneth
Lee's daughter and his medals. |
