Telford memorial plaque is tribute to WW2 plane hero
A plaque was being unveiled today in memory of an American WW2 pilot who deliberately ditched his plane in order to avoid crashing into a school in Shropshire.
The memorial will be placed on the green at Lawley Bank, Telford, where Second Lieutenant Clifford W Jenson's plane went down in 1944.
The tribute has been organised by resident Ivor Jones, who saw the P-47 Thunderbolt plane go down when he was a schoolboy.
Mr Jones, who is now 79, said: "I was 10 or 11 when it came down. I can still remember the smell of the plane burning now and all the bullets that had been in its machine guns exploding and shooting out into the walls and breaking the windows of the houses.
Lt Jenson was a USAAF pilot based at Atcham during the war, and had been on a training exercise when he experienced problems with his aircraft.
The plane was on a course which would have seen it crash into Lawley School, potentially killing or injuring hundreds of children.
But rather than bail out, Lt Jenson remained at the controls, bringing the plane down in the green.
He died in the subsequent fire.
Mr Jones said: "The report that the air investigators made afterwards said his plane could have been damaged while they were carrying out a training exercise.
"It would have weighed about nine tonnes and if it had hit the school then it would have been terrible, and if it had come down on the houses it would have been like Lockerbie."
"He managed to avoid the school and guide it down so that it missed the houses.
"A man called Enoch Rigby had just come out of the Bullring pub.
"He tried to get to him to pull him out of the plane, but the heat from the fire was too intense and he couldn't get to him."
Lt Jenson's remains were subsequently buried in Oxford
The plaque, which has been bought with donations from local people and contributions from local businesses, was being unveiled by Wrekin MP David Wright.
By Pam Griffin
