{"id":230,"date":"2018-04-04T15:05:25","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T15:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/historylearning.com\/blog\/?p=230"},"modified":"2018-04-04T15:05:25","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T15:05:25","slug":"how-a-monument-to-a-ww1-pilot-was-lost-for-a-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/historylearning.com\/blog\/how-a-monument-to-a-ww1-pilot-was-lost-for-a-century\/","title":{"rendered":"How a monument to a WW1 pilot was lost for a century"},"content":{"rendered":"

It can sometimes take a while for a fitting memorial to a historical event to be designed, made and put into the public eye. They might not even get past the drawing board, if there are enough delays or even a cancellation thanks to \u201cdeath by committee\u201d. Others should never really been made real, such as the touching tribute to the king of pop made by Fulham FC owner Mohamad Al Fayed in 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But for the family of Captain Eric Lubbock, a pilot who was shot down over Belgium in 1917, it took decades for a fitting memorial to make its way to a grieving family.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Captain\n\t\t\t\t
Captain Eric Lubbock<\/em><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

The pilot had been awarded the Military Cross for \u201cconspicuous gallantry and skill\u201d shown in the field when he shot down an Imperial Albatross \u2013 a biplane fighter flown by many top German aces \u2013 in October 1915<\/a>. After a campaign fighting in Europe, Captain Lubbock was shot down in his Sopwith Camel bi-plane during a mission flown in Belgium with the Royal flying Corps \u2013 the predecessor of the RAF \u2013 in March 1917.<\/p>\n

On news of Captain Lubbock\u2019s death his grieving mother, Lady Avebury, commissioned a plane-shaped memorial to be made so that he could be remembered in the family home of High Elms, Bromley, alongside his brother and brother-in-law, who were also lost in the Great War<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the 1930s, however, the Avebury family were forced to sell the estate back to Kent County Council. In 1981, after years of neglect, the family graveyard was broken up, gravestones uprooted and the rest moved into the grounds of the nearby St Giles\u2019 Church.<\/p>\n

During the turmoil, Lubbock\u2019s Camel went missing. Nobody saw exactly what happened at the time, but it was probably taken by a looter who thought they could flog it for some cash years later.<\/p>\n

Until several years later, that is, when it was rediscovered at a stonemason\u2019s near Hungerford in Wiltshire. According to Lyulph Lubbock (the 5th Baron of Avebury and descendent of the Captain\u2019s), it was being used to advertise the mason\u2019s services. \u201cThe mason wouldn\u2019t say how he got hold of it and refused to give it back. In the end my father had to buy it back at auction for \u00a38,000,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

And so, almost a century later, the memorial was placed back where it belonged in what was the Avebury family\u2019s walled kitchen garden \u2013 now part of Bromley Council\u2019s visitor centre at High Elms Country Park \u2013 and was re-consecrated in 2010.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Eric\n\t\t\t\t
Eric Lubbock’s restored memorial<\/em><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

In 2018, Lubbock\u2019s plane is one of 14 war memorials that were dedicated to British airmen in The First and Second World Wars that Historic England has recognised to mark the centenary of the founding of the RAF.<\/p>\n

They also include a memorial to Britain\u2019s most decorated airman<\/a> \u2013 James McCudden, who shot down 57 enemy aircraft and was awarded the Victoria Cross – and Leefe Robinson, the first British pilot to shoot down a German Zeppelin airship.<\/p>\n

Baron Avebury said it was of great importance to keep such memorials alive and remembered to avoid soldiers like his great uncle being forgotten. He added: \u201cWe need to protect our link to the past and remember the stories that go with these memorials.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It can sometimes take a while for a fitting memorial to a historical event to be designed, made and put into the public eye. They might not even get past the drawing board, if there are enough delays or even a cancellation thanks to \u201cdeath by committee\u201d. Others should never really been made real, such… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,58,57,29],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-eric-lubbock","tag-memorial","tag-royal-air-force","tag-world-war-one"],"yoast_head":"\nHow a monument to a WW1 pilot was lost for a century - Vox Historia - History Learning Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For Captain Eric Lubbock, a pilot who shot down in World War One over Belgium in 1917, it took decades for a memorial to make its way to a grieving family.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/historylearning.com\/blog\/how-a-monument-to-a-ww1-pilot-was-lost-for-a-century\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a monument to a WW1 pilot was lost for a century - 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