James Stellin memorial in France

This memorial to New Zealand Pilot Officer James Stellin was erected at Saint-Maclou-la-Brière, a small village in the Seine-Maritime region of Normandy, in 1964. It was here, on 19 August 1944, that Stellin gave his own life to save the village's inhabitants.

James Stellin was flying an RAF Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber like this one when he was killed in action on 19 August 1944. Operating mainly as 'tank-busters', the rocket-armed Typhoons played a crucial role in the successful Allied campaign in Normandy. In August 1944 alone, Stellin's 609 Squadron flew 461 operational sorties, mostly over the Falaise pocket, and destroyed at least 42 German tanks and 88 motorised enemy vehicles. 

This memorial plaque to James Stellin, originally housed at the Kilbirne RSA, is now held by his old school in Wellington, Scots College. The College has other memorabilia relating to Stellin, including a flying satchel recovered from his crashed Typhoon.