WHILE the memory of Guy Gibson and his Dambusters has been widely toasted 70 years on, few remember the name of a young pilot who died after his Spitfire crashed near Ben Nevis on the same day.
Flying Officer John McDonell, 21, who was based at RAF Fraserburgh, came down as his plane was returning from an aerial photographic reconnaissance mission on the west coast when the plane developed engine trouble.
The Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, who flew with the RAF, from Smithers, north-west British Columbia, was remembered yesterday in the Highlands and in Canada.
His Spitfire crashed into Meall an t-Suidhe, part of the west side of the Ben Nevis massif. Mr McDonell died on the mountain and his body was taken to Inverness where it was buried in a war grave in Tomnahurich Cemetery.
RAF representatives, the Royal British Legion Scotland (RBLS), Highland Council and cadet groups took part in the memorial service at the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre. Around 200 people attended the event. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a message of greetings.
A commemorative plaque was unveiled and four wreaths were laid at 2.20pm, the time of the crash, and a helicopter from HMS Gannet in Prestwick, Ayrshire, made a flypast.
Members of the Fort William RBLS branch, accompanied by guides from Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, walked to the crash site to lay a wreath. At the same time, wreaths were laid next to the memorial plaque and at Mr McDonell's grave in Inverness .
Meanwhile, in the pilot's home town of Smithers, where he worked in a bank, Lord Provost Harry Krusselbrink also laid a wreath in his memory. The day was organised by Lochaber Archaeological Society, which has been researching the tragedy including carrying out a survey of the crash site at the request of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Robert Cairns, chairman of the society, said he was delighted the Canadians were doing their bit to commemorate Mr McDonell. "We never realised when we started researching this incident about nine months ago that it would lead to this," he said.
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