Memorial for Malvern pilot who saved school (From Malvern Gazette)

Memorial for Malvern pilot who saved school

11:44am Friday 25th April 2008 in

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A MEMORIAL is to be erected in a Scottish town to commemorate an RAF pilot from Malvern who died in a plane crash 50 years ago.

Flight-lieutenant Michael Withey was killed when his Gloster Meteor jet crashed at Kirkcaldy, Fife, on October 18, 1957.

Eyewitnesses said the pilot stayed with his plane to prevent it crashing into a built-up area, which included a school.

Flt-Lt Withey, who had celebrated his 26th birthday just two days before the crash, was the only son of Mr and Mrs Frank Withey of Pickersleigh Road.

His funeral was held at the Church of Our Lady and St Edmund, College Road, and he is buried in Great Malvern Cemetery, off Wilton Road.

A wreath at the funeral carried a card reading: "To the grateful memory of Flt-Lt Michael John Withey, whose actions as a pilot immediately before his death saved a school and its pupils from a major disaster."

Kirkcaldy Civic Society is now going ahead with plans to install a memorial plaque near the site of the crash, which happened on the Dunnikier estate in the town.

And relatives of the young pilot have welcomed the news. His brother-in-law, Clement O'Mara, who married Michael's sister Maureen not long before his death, said: "It was our 50th wedding anniversary last year, and that of course meant that we thought a lot about Mike, who was killed not long after we got married.

"Mike was a devout Christian and a keen Scout who won the King's Scout badge. It was entirely in character for him to make this sacrifice."

He said that he and his wife, who live in Devon, had never visited Kirkcaldy, but hoped to do so for the dedication of the plaque.

Ann Watter, chair of Kirkcaldy Civic Society, said they hope to install the plaque later this year, with family members and representatives from the RAF at the ceremony.

Flt-Lt Withey was based in Norfolk at the time of the crash, He was flying the twin-engined Meteor to an airfield in Edinburgh that day, but had to divert to RAF Leuchars in Fife because of bad weather. The crash was caused by engine trouble.