Battle of Britain 75th anniversary – Radnor Street Cemetery

Ten years ago Radnor Street Cemetery volunteers in partnership with the Swindon Heritage Magazine commemorated another significant war time event – the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The Duke, in his role as Air Marshall, Royal Air Force came to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and one of ‘The Few’, Swindon born fighter pilot Harold Morley Starr. The week long Swindon Remembers commemorative festival concluded with a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Duke’s visit on Battle of Britain Day.

Harold Morley Starr was born in Swindon on September 8, 1914, the fourth of Ellen and Morley Starr’s five children. He grew up in the Central Temperance Hotel in Regent Street where his mother was the proprietor and his father worked as a shop fitter. Harold attended Clarence Street School, Swindon completing his education at Cotham Grammar School following the family’s move to Bristol.

While still at school Harold became a member of the Officers’ Training Corps and at the age of just 19 won an RAF scholarship and joined the air force as an acting pilot officer.

On August 31, 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, Harold’s Hurricane L1830 was shot down over Eastry near Sandwich during an interception patrol. The young fighter pilot successfully baled out at 15,000 feet but as he floated down three Messerschmitts circled him and opened fire.

Harold’s body was returned to Swindon where he was buried in a family grave in Radnor Street Cemetery. His funeral took place on September 6, two days before what would have been his 26th birthday.

Two blue plaques commemorate Harold and his brother Wing Commander Norman John Starr DFC & Bar. Visit the website for more details.

The Duke of Gloucester was then escorted to Swindon station where he unveiled a commemorative plaque to Sqn Ldr Starr on a First Great Western Class 43 locomotive.

For more than 15 years a small group of volunteers have been working to bring the history of the cemetery alive again and the cemetery chapel has been central to our work.

The chapel was designed in 1881 in the Gothic Revivalist style by popular local architect William Henry Read (who is buried in the cemetery). The cemetery chapel was non denominational and the burial plots in the cemetery were unconsecrated, at last the non-conformist residents of Swindon could be buried according to their own beliefs. Built to seat 100 people the chapel is austere and unfussy and painted white throughout, but this was not the original colour scheme. During repair and restoration work undertaken in 2013 we discovered that the upper walls were painted dark blue with the lower section a dark red, another fascinating aspect of the history of the building.

The cemetery chapel is central to the activities we hold, especially the Service of Remembrance. However, in recent years the numbers who attend this service have increased to such an extent that we are no longer able to meet in the chapel. Instead we gather round the Cross of Sacrifice, the Commonwealth War Graves memorial. At the end of the service the scouts place a cross on each of the 104 Commonwealth War Graves.

In 2014 we hosted the launch of Swindon in the Great War, a four year project to commemorate the events of the First World War. An exhibition of First World War artefacts and photographs at the end of the commemoration period was a great success.

And in 2015 the Duke of Gloucester was guest of honour at a Battle of Britain 75th anniversary commemorative event held at the cemetery. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew over Radnor Street Cemetery and the grave of Squadron Leader Harold Morley Starr, a Swindon born pilot who was shot down by enemy aircraft above Kent on August 31, 1940.