7 aircraft fly twice over Nottinghamshire village to mark RAF memorial

A group of seven aircraft were seen flying twice over a Nottinghamshire village as they marked the unveiling of an RAF memorial. A statue dedicated to those who served at the former RAF Newton base was first unveiled during a ceremony on April 23.

A flypast had been due to take place as part of the celebrations but bad weather conditions meant this was delayed. But six Chipmunks and one Bulldog were able to make the journey on Thursday (April 27).

The statue has been built at the Newton Garden Village, a development of more than 500 new homes which is located on the former RAF Newton Airfield. Tim O'Brien, who was an Air Cadet at RAF Newton in the 1980s, is now an artist living in Bingham and has designed the recently-unveiled statue.

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He said: "This magnificent sculpture is the culmination of 12 years' hard work by a team of volunteers, which has brought together various sections of the community to remember the aviation heritage of the area. My late grandfather served here in Second World War and my aviation art career started here with the RAF Air Cadets back in the 1980s."

The RAF Newton Memorial. (Tim O'Brien)

Thursday's flypast saw the seven aircraft take off from Leicester Airport before making two passes over Newton at 2.50pm. Ryan O'Sullivan, Sales Director at Redrow East Midlands, said: "We're delighted to unveil this new statue at Newton Garden Village.

"We love to support local projects, so we are pleased to be funding the memorial of a World War Two airman with his dog. We believe this will bring to life the history of Newton Garden Village and help to commemorate the area's important aviation background."

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