Final approach for Kiwi RAF hero

A permanent statue honouring Kiwi Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park in London is a step closer.

A planning application for the statue backed by MPs in New Zealand and Britain, leading military historians and Oscar-winning film director Peter Jackson will be submitted to Westminster City Council this week.

If approved, the permanent statue would be unveiled in Waterloo Place in September next year, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign spokesman said.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has already confirmed that a temporary statue of Sir Keith who commanded RAF squadrons that defended London during the battle will be put on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square for six months later this year.

There are plinths on each of the four corners of Trafalgar Square. Three hold statues of George IV, Henry Havelock and Sir Charles Napier. The fourth was for a statue of William IV, but it was never built. It is now the location for specially commissioned artworks.

Mr Johnson said he was looking forward to seeing the memorial finally in place. "Without his courage and leadership, the Battle of Britain could have been lost, which would have had devastating consequences for not just London, but the entire world."

Sir Keith, born in Thames in 1892, returned to New Zealand in 1948. He died in 1975, aged 82.

- © Fairfax NZ News