Leadhills Miners’ Library honoured the memory of Sgt George Stevenson, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot whose Hawker Hurricane crashed near Leadhills during a training flight in July 1941, by returning the plane’s salvaged propeller blade to his home town. 

Stevenson, originally from Kilwinning in Ayrshire, emigrated to Canada with his family and joined the RCAF in 1940 before returning to the UK for service in WW2. Flying in poor visibility over the Southern Uplands, he tragically crashed into Lowther Hill at the age of 26.

One of the aircraft’s propeller blades was retrieved from the wreckage and preserved, staying in the care of a local hotel. It was then handed to the then Earl of Hopetoun for safe storage, before being given to Britain’s oldest subscription library, Leadhills Miners’ Library.

Following a special ceremony at the Leadhills Miners’ Library, the blade was gifted to Christ Church Anglican in Meaford, Ontario — the town Stevenson called home. The gift was made with the support of the Battle of Britain Trust and at the request of Stevenson’s nephew, Andy Smart, himself an RCAF veteran.

The propeller blade will become part of Christ Church’s Second World War memorial alongside other historic artefacts honouring those who served in the Second World War. Rev Brendon Bedford described the blade as a “tangible memorial” to Stevenson’s life and sacrifice. 

The present Earl of Hopetoun, Andrew Hope, a Miners’ Library trustee, said: “I’m delighted that the propeller blade will become a memorial to Sgt Stevenson in his hometown, at his nephew’s request. It is more than fitting that it should go to Canada, where it will allow the family and friends of a brave young man to remember him.”

The story has created lasting connections between Leadhills and Meaford, reflecting shared remembrance, friendship and solidarity between Scotland and Canada.

Read the full article in The National here: https://www.thenational.scot/news/26054325.communities-unite-scotland-canada-honour-ww2-airman/