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The story of the Spitfire

This story begins in Southsea. Gloria and I went to the UK for a visit and while there went to a museum on the Southsea common. The museum was dedicated to the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. We toured the museum and, on the way out, stopped in the gift shop. While there I saw this commemorative plate of the Supermarine Spitfire. The Spitfire teamed up with the Hawker Hurricane to defend Britain against the Luftwaffe's bombers and the Messerschmit 109, at that time the best German fighter. Owing to the Spitfire's ability at high altitude they engaged the ME 109 and left the Hurricane to look after the bombers at the lower altitudes.

After we came home I went to the Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope, outside Hamilton and while there was impressed by the poem written by an RAF Spitfire pilot. Unfortunately this pilot was killed the next day but his poem lives as a lasting tribute to the collective courage of him and his fellow airmen.

When I came home I isolated the picture of the Spitfire from the commemorative plate, added some sky, rotated the Spitfire to appear that it was climbing out to intercept the enemy, added some clouds to the scene and then finally typed the poem on top of the composite picture.

by Mike Stallybrass