VIDEO: Spitfire circles Dr Gray's Hospital in tribute to NHS
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A SPITFIRE which flew in World War Two performed a flypast over Dr Gray's this morning as part of a nationwide tribute to the NHS.
The aircraft is raising money for NHS Charities Together. The words ‘THANK U NHS’ have been hand-written onto the plane, which is owned by the Aircraft Restoration Company.
The plane took off from Duxfield Airport in Cambridgeshire at 10am on Wednesday morning, embarking on a journey that will see it fly over 98 hospitals including 25 in Scotland.
A large crowd gathered on Ladyhill in Elgin to get a bird's eye view of the historic aircraft as it circled the hospital before heading on to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
The public can also nominate names of loved ones to be written on the plane, which has an 80,000 name capacity, to raise money.
John Romain, founder and managing director of Aircraft Restoration Company, said: “The response to our initial flight over the last 8pm #clapforourcarers Thursday was incredibly humbling, with hundreds of people from the local community sharing how wonderful it was to not
only see the Spitfire, but also to read the message emblazoned across its wings.
“After such a positive response we decided to leave the message painted on the Spitfire for the rest of the flying season; this is where the idea to handwrite the names of the nation’s loved ones onto the aircraft to raise money for the NHS Charities Together began.”
The Spitfire was specifically built and used for photo-reconnaissance during the Second World War, carrying cameras instead of weapons.
You can get a name added to the plane for a minimum donation of £10 at the JustGiving.com/nhsspitfire fundraising page.
