How the Half Moon Spitfire sparked an extraordinary tribute to The Few

AS A BOY growing up in the wake of the Second World War, Malcolm Pettit became fascinated by the story of a young RAF pilot who crashed his Spitfire into the chicken coop of a Kentish pub garden during the dog days of the Battle of Britain.

- James Murray

Malcolm's father George, who died in 1993 aged 78, had been an RAF aircraft fitter and kept his son spellbound during family meals with stories of the conflict.

But this particular incident, on October 27, 1940, captured his imagination, filling his head with questions: who was the pilot? Why didn't he bail out? And, perhaps most pertinently, did he survive? Seeking answers as he grew up would inspire an incredible collection of Battle of Britain-related relics and memorabilia due for auction today.

The flyer, Malcolm later learnt was Sergeant Pilot John "Johnnie" Romney Mather. He had died instantly when his aircraft, Spitfire P7539, plunged into the ground at the back of the Half Moon pub at Hildenborough, near Tonbridge.

Born in Blackheath in 1915, he was educated at Dulwich College. His father worked for the Tata iron and steel company in India, and the metal industry was in his blood.

Mather worked for Stewarts & Lloyds at Glasgow and then Corby, before joining the RAF volunteer reserve in 1937. He was called to full-time service at the outbreak of war and was with 66 Squadron in June 1940.

But knowing all this did nothing to assuage Malcolm's curiosity and, in 1972, by now working as a builder and with the permission of the authorities, he led an archaeological dig in a bid to honour the 24-year-old pilot's memory. Recovered was the doomed Spitfire's Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, two rudder pedals, the engine starter motor and various other aircraft parts.

Mather is commemorated at St Margaret's churchyard in Ifield, West Sussex, but Malcolm's own story had only just begun.

The jet-black engine block - dented and cracked from impact yet instantly recognisable as one of the Second World War's most famous aircraft motors - now forms the centrepiece of a remarkable collection.