Rotorua family's war hero honour

A CAMPAIGN involving Rotorua family members is underway to honour Sir Keith Park, one of New Zealand's and the British Empire's unsung war heroes.

A statue of Sir Keith is to be erected in London's Trafalgar Square.

Credited for rescuing England from its darkest hour, Sir Keith Rodney Park was Air Chief Marshall in charge of the air defence of London and South East England in 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain.

His nephew, Dr Keith Park, who has lived in Rotorua for almost 80 years, says his uncle and namesake was a very modest and kind man who rarely spoke about the war.

"He was a legend in the family after the First World War where he distinguished himself very well. He wasn't an aggressive man. I remember him playing with my children when he used to come and visit us in Rotorua," Dr Park said.

English businessman Terry Smith, who is leading the charge to have Sir Keith recognised, said in English newspaper the Daily Express, he is willing to pay for the statue himself.

"More than any other individual, Park helped to save London. After all, if it were not for Park, who knows what statues might now fill Trafalgar Square?" Mr Smith said.

Almost 70 years after he saved England from the might of the Luftwaffe there is still no statue or memorial to him and campaigners in England are trying to get his statue erected on the fourth and final plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Dr Park said the offer from Mr Smith was a remarkable gesture.

"Very few colonial soldiers have been recognised over the years. I think my uncle is deserving of the honour," he said.

Presently the three corners of Trafalgar Square hold statues of King George IV, Major-General Sir Henry Havelock and General Sir Charles James Napier, whom the city of Napier is named after.

World War II fighter pilot and Rotorua resident Jack Stafford said that although he never met Sir Keith or fought in the Battle of Britain his reputation was one of a courageous and intelligent leader.

"Park was very popular with the pilots and I never ever heard a bad word said about him. He used to visit the airfields and his men in his own Hurricane fighter plane which was great for morale. If anyone should be up there it should be Park, without a doubt," Mr Stafford said.

Sir Keith Park was born in Thames in 1892 and served as an ANZAC in Gallipoli before joining the British Army and serving in the Somme where he was wounded. He then joined the Royal Flying Corp and was the highest scoring ace in his squadron, receiving the Military Cross and bar, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.

After helping win the Battle of Britain he was posted to Malta where he received further accolades for the defence of the island. After the war he returned to New Zealand where he served on the Auckland City Council. He died in 1975 aged 82.