Pupils immortalise WW2 heroes with special plaque

A new memorial remembering the bravery and sacrifice of three World War Two heroes has been put on display thanks to years of work by school children.

Hampshire pupils researched and designed a special infographic memorial plaque that honours two RAF Battle of Britain pilots and a soldier held prisoner by the Japanese.

The plaque, which tells the stories of Wing Cdr James Nicolson VC, Pilot Officer Martyn Aurel King and Pte Bert Warne, has been displayed on a University of Southampton building.

Indigo, who attends Sholing Junior School in the city, said getting to work on it "is quite a privilege in itself".

The bravery of James Nicolson was witnessed by people on the ground in Southampton in the summer of 1940.

He was trying to bail out after his plane caught fire but changed his mind when he saw a German aircraft.

Frank, a pupil at Hook-with-Warsash School, said: "So he gets back in the burning plane that could literally blow up at any minute and shoots down this German Messerschmitt."

Wing Commander Nicolson was the only RAF fighter pilot to receive the Victoria Cross - the highest gallantry award in WW2.

James Nicolson, who shares the same name, said his uncle would have been taken aback by all the attention he was getting.

"He'd be amazed. He'd be astonished. He'd be deeply embarrassed. He would not understand what all the fuss was about."

King, another RAF pilot, was flying with Nicolson on the day he won the award.

Just 18 years old, his parachute was damaged when he was attacked by a German fighter over Southampton.

"While he was dying, a person came out and he was comforting him while he died," said Frankie, a pupil at Sholing Junior School.

Warne, a soldier who was captured in Singapore, is the third war hero featured on the memorial plaque.

He survived the notorious Japanese prisoner of war camps and returned to Southampton.

"He was on the Death Railway which was an incredibly large railway that they were making people work on," said Sholing Junior School pupil Izzy.

Warne was the only one of the three to survive World War Two and passed away at the age of 105 in 2025.

His son, Pat Warne, said: "I think Bert would have been most impressed by the children.

"He spent a lot of his personal time over the last few years of his life going round to schools talking with children about how important it is to avoid war."

Project lead Richard Hutchinson said he hoped it would inspire other schools to research the stories of many more war heroes.

"I think the children have seen a certain injustice about the fact that some of these people have sacrificed so much and been so brave, yet none of the general public know anything about them and they seek to rectify that and I think it's very important."