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Location
At the Shrine, Haven Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 IWM War Memorials Archive Record Link : War Memorials Archive Reference 40734 Historic England Listing Status The War Memorial Shrine is Listed Grade II (September 2009) Isle of Wight Council Local Listing Status The War Memorial Shrine has been included in the list of structures of Local importance held by the Isle of Wight Council (June 2008). Description The Shrine on the hill overlooking Haven Street village is dedicated to the memory of 2/Lt R T C Willis-Fleming and contains memorials to other members of the family, in addition to plaques giving the names of those from Haven Street and Binstead who died in the Great War. The plaque described here commemorates USAAF Major E W Leach who died in an air crash in 1945; the plaque was installed on Tuesday 12 April 1994. See also the Binstead memorials : Binstead Parish War memorial |
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Memorial
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Inscription
IN MEMORY OF MAJOR EVERETT W LEACH D.F.C. U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS WHO DIED NEARBY 19 JULY 1945 Further Information Major Leach was killed when his aircraft crashed at Rowlands Lane, Haven Street on Thursday 19th July 1945. The aircraft was an Airspeed Oxford serial no NM247 which Leach was checking out after repair. The port fuel tank became detached meaning that Leach could not control a fatal spin into the ground. Leach had been educated at Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Massachusetts, graduating in 1938. After working as an engineer for Standard Oil, he joined the USAAC, and at the time of the crash had been employed as a test pilot at the Empire Test Pilots School at Boscombe Down. Major Leach had been married with one child. He was awarded a posthumous DFC in 1950. The plaque was erected following research by a former colleague and friend of Leach, Nils Askman. From "Wight Air Wrecks, A T Gilliam, Tempus Publishing Ltd, 2002", which gives fuller details of Leach's career and a photograph. See Andy Gilliam's website on Wight Air Wrecks and other subjects.
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Memorials & Monuments
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