Minute silence held for flight shot down 80 years ago

Dave Bendry, secretary of the North Bristol Amateur Radio club, said he did not want flight 777 to be forgotten

A ceremony has been held to remember those who died when a civilian aeroplane was shot down 80 years ago during World War Two.

Hollywood actor Leslie Howard was among the 17 passengers killed when flight 777 came down over the Bay of Biscay.

The plane had been heading for Whitchurch Airport in Bristol from Lisbon in Portugal.

Secretary of the North Bristol Amateur Radio club, Dave Bendry, said he did not want flight 777 to be forgotten.

The incident happened on 1 June 1943.

A minute silence was held earlier at 11:54 BST, the moment the very last radio message was received.

It said: "I am followed by unidentified aircraft. I am attacked by enemy aircraft."

The group held a minute silence at the moment the very last radio message was received

Matt Adlard, events coordinator for the club, said it was important to help people engage with their local history.

"It is a shame there is no recognition for the crew and passengers on that flight," he said.

The North Bristol Amateur Radio club had joined forces with South Bristol Radio club to commemorate the event.

Flights regularly flew to and from Whitchurch Airport, which was closed in 1957 and is now mostly a housing estate.

The ceremony was held to also highlight the old airfield's historic significance.

"There were four flights a week to and from Lisbon and they called it 'The Spy Run'," Mr Bendry said.

"It was passing information. In their jobs they would possibly see things like a certain aircraft flew into a certain airfield, and they would pass that information back."

Actor Leslie Howard was most famous for his role in Gone with the Wind in 1939

Amongst the passengers was Howard, who was most well-known for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind in 1939, and had turned his talents to making propaganda films for the Allies.

Another passenger was Wilfrid Israel, who used his family business to save more than two thirds of the Jewish staff that worked in his store in Berlin, giving each two year's salary to set up a new life in Australia.

He was also a founding member of the Kindertransport, which saved thousands of Jewish Children from death.

There are conflicting theories about why the plane was shot down, but it is unlikely anyone will know for certain for another 20 years until the official files are released a century after the disaster.