In steel, Chelsea’s salute to The Few
‘Where people can sit and reflect’
STARING intently into the sky, this striking sculpture of a spitfire pilot will take centre stage at the Chelsea Flower show which opens tomorrow.
The steel figure was created by garden designer and sculptor John Everiss to commemorate the RAF personnel who fought and won the Battle of Britain.
The gardening extravaganza, run by the Royal Horticultural society, is returning to its May dates for the first time since the pandemic, running from tomorrow until saturday. in 2021 it was held in
september – a first for the show – and in 2020 it was cancelled.
Mr Everiss, of Chorley, Lancashire, had originally intended his sculpture for the 2020 show – the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. He said: ‘My father was in the RAF, he was a navigator in Bomber Command, got shot down in 1943 and escaped through the French Resistance and came back to the UK. When i was asked to do something to commemorate the Battle of Britain, it was an honour.’
Mr Everiss modelled the young pilot on his own son, george, now 24.
‘i wanted to create something that told the story of a young Battle of Britain pilot who had just returned,’ he said. The sculpture is made of 223 layers of stainless steel. The surrounding garden features the red, white and blue of the RAF roundel with azaleas and camellias.
Mr Everiss said: ‘We wanted to create a really calm and serene space. Although this is commemorating actions during the war, we wanted to create something where people can sit and reflect and perhaps think about their own families or other families and what’s happened to them.’
The Queen is hoping to attend the show, Buckingham Palace said last week.