Shoreham aircrash memorial sculptures to honour victims

Five different art works are to form part of a permanent memorial to the victims of the Shoreham air disaster.

Eleven men died when a Hawker Hunter jet crashed on the A27 in Sussex during the Shoreham Air Show in 2015.

A series of memorial sculptures will be installed along the banks of the River Adur, close to the scene.

The designs, which are in the very early stages, will honour the victims and their families, the first responders and the local community.

They include 11 lights which will be lit all day and night, an arch formed of 11 individual arches, "discrete areas of relatively solitary seating" and bespoke oak seats.

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(Top row, left to right) Matt Jones, Matthew Grimstone, Jacob Schilt, Maurice Abrahams, Richard Smith. (Bottom row, left to right) Mark Reeves, Tony Brightwell, Mark Tussler, Daniele Polito, Dylan Archer, Graham Mallinson

The families of those who died have been consulted throughout the planning process.

Artists Jane Fordham and David Parfitt have been commissioned to design and create the memorial, which will cost £180,000 to construct, funded by public bodies and local businesses.

Adur and Worthing Councils' joint strategic committee will consider recommendations relating to financing the development of the memorial on 4 April.

It is hoped the final elements of it will be installed for the third anniversary of the tragedy on 22 August 2018.

A further 13 people, including the pilot Andy Hill, were injured in the disaster.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report earlier this month concluded the jet crashed because it was too low to perform an aerobatic manoeuvre.

Memorial seating dedicated to the family and friends of the victims is planned on the banks of the River Adur

The victims

Who were the Shoreham air crash victims?

• Matt Jones, 24 - a personal trainer

• Daniele Polito, 23 - he was travelling in the same car as Mr Jones

• Matthew Grimstone, 23 - a Worthing United footballer who worked as a groundsman at Brighton & Hove Albion

• Jacob Schilt, 23 - a Worthing United player travelling to a match with Mr Grimstone

• Maurice Abrahams, 76 - a chauffeur on his way to pick up a bride on her wedding day

• Richard Smith, 26, and Dylan Archer, 42 - friends who were going for a bike ride on the South Downs

• Mark Reeves, 53 - he had taken his motorcycle to the perimeter of Shoreham Airport to take photos of the planes

• Tony Brightwell, 53, - an aircraft enthusiast who had learned to fly at Shoreham airfield

• Mark Trussler, 54 - thought to have been riding his motorcycle on the A27

• Graham Mallinson, 72 - a keen photographer and retired engineer

An arch, formed of 11 individual arches engraved with a personal dedication to each of the victims, would be sited by the Old Shoreham Toll Bridge