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Title
Spitfire
Date
2023
Medium
stainless steel & Corten steel
Accession number
ST1_JT_S090
Acquisition method
commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and donated by KMF
Work type
Sculpture
Owner
Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Custodian
Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Work status
extant
Unveiling date
11th January 2023
Access
at all times
Inscription description
The Etruria Valley Link Road Project was officially opened on 11 January 2023 / by Councillor Faisal Hussain, Lord Mayor of the City of Stoke-on-Trent / Spitfire sculpture designed by Suhail Shaikh and built by KMF Precision Sheet Metal. The sculpture is all about the people. People make and people are, Stoke-on-Trent. / As a tribute to the generations of steelworkers who are the backbone of the / local steel industry, the sculpture stands in the heart or the erstwhile Shelton Iron and Steel/ works that stretched across the Etruria Valley. / Carrying on the heritage of engineering expertise, the sculpture is precision engineered and/ and built in stainless steel. Reginald J Mitchell from Butt Lane , Kidsgrove trained as an engineer with Kerr Stuart Locomotives at Mount Pleasant, Fenton. He went on to design racing seaplanes for / Supermarine Aviation Works, which won outright the internationally coveted Schneider Trophy. / This sculpture is a tribute to his finest design – the spitfire, a timeless legend. The ethereal aspect appears as a glimpse, representing all the unknown people who with very little/ formal qualifications or training worked in complete secrecy to build 25,000 Rolls Royce Merlin /engines and thousands of Bristol aircraft parts at the shadow factories of Crewe and Blythe Bridge/ during World War Two. Their astonishing covert feat exemplified courage, innovations and determination. / Devoid of armament and markings which narrate a role in conflict, the sculpture emphasises design / excellence stemming from human creative talent. / Three support legs symbolise the sturdy pillars of the past, canted forward towards the future. The oxidised finish is the heritage of founding values that catapult the shining sculpture / representing today’s youth, forward into their future. / Thank You to the people of North Staffordshire for all their extraordinary achievements.