Cecil Hight Pilot Officer Cecil Henry Hight ( 6 September 1917 – 15 August 1940 ) was a New Zealand born fighter pilot who served with the Royal Air Force during World War II . He was killed in action during the Battle of Britain . Early life . Hight was born on 6 September 1917 to Herbert Edward Hight and Emma Hight ( née Anderson ) , of East Road , Stratford , Taranaki , New Zealand . In his teens he was educated at Stratford Technical High School . As a youngster he helped with his father ' s milkround , and after he left school he became a car salesman . Hight learned to fly with Stratford Aero Club , obtaining his ' A ' License at the Western Federated Aero Club in August 1937 . A photo from the Stratford Aero Club archives show him with his ' wings ' badge awarded to those who are qualified to fly solo . Military career . In early 1938 , Hight worked his passage to England to join the Royal Air Force . He failed to meet the educational requirements , so took a cramming course in mathematics and on reapplication was provisionally accepted for a short service commission . He began training on 6 January 1939 , was made Acting Pilot Officer on probation on 15 April , and completed training becoming Pilot Officer on probation on 6 November . Hight joined 234 Squadron at RAF Leconfield in Yorkshire , which was re - forming with Blenheim s , but from March 1940 re - equipped with Spitfire s . During the Battle of Britain he flew Spitfires with 234 Squadron out of RAF Middle Wallop . Death . On Thursday 15 August 1940 a massive German raid of 70 bombers escorted by around 200 fighters was spotted off Portland in Dorset . The warning sirens sounded at 5 . 20pm in Bournemouth . 234 Squadron , including Pilot Officer Hight , was scrambled to repel the attack . Around 6pm his Spitfire , R6988 , was hit over Bournemouth . It appears that in order to avoid inflicting casualties on the ground , Hight piloted his stricken plane away from the built up area of the town and towards Meyrick Park . He bailed out as the plane came down but his parachute did not open . His body was found under a hedge in the grounds of Hambledon on Leven Avenue . He may well have been already dead from machine gun wounds before he hit the ground . He was 22 years old . His plane crashed less than fifty yards away and created a crater on the corner of Leven Avenue and Walsford Road . Canon Hedley Burrows , vicar of St Peter ' s , arrived just before Hight ' s body was found and he said a prayer for the dead pilot where he lay . The owners of Hambledon , Alfred and Edith Hoare , created a garden of remembrance on the spot where Hight had landed . Hight ' s funeral was held on 19 August , conducted by Canon Headley Burrows . His coffin was carried by six RAF officers and draped with the British and New Zealand flags , and his uniform cap . He was buried with military honours including a firing volley and officers ' salute . Among the wreaths was a bunch of flowers from the garden where he fell . He is buried in an area of Commonwealth War Grave s in Bournemouth East Cemetery . His family chose a quotation from the Book of Proverbs for his headstone , ' I love them that love me , and those that seek me early shall find me ' . Hambledon , the house in whose garden Hight ' s body landed , was itself bombed in an air raid just before midnight on the night of 14 November 1940 . Alfred and Edith Hoare were both dug out of the rubble , but Alfred died on the way to hospital . He was pronounced dead at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Bournemouth on the 15th , and is buried in Wimborne Road Cemetery . The Hoares ' garden of remembrance continued to be tended by local people . Memorials . Like the rest of The Few , Cecil Hight is commemorated on the Battle of Britain Memorial , Capel - le - Ferne , and the Battle of Britain Monument in London . A memorial service for Cecil Hight was held at St Peters church on 7 April 1943 . The New Zealand High Commissioner unveiled a plaque of RAF brevet wings with ' NZ ' in the centre , designed and carved from Kauri wood by the pupils of Hight ' s old school , Stratford Technical High , in New Zealand . The service was broadcast live to New Zealand and heard by Hight ' s mother . The Municipal Buildings in Stratford has a Hall of Remembrance which displays photos and names of the area ' s dead from the world wars , including Cecil Hight . Bournemouth council named a road in West Howe " Pilot Hight Road " . In 2010 , new street signs were installed carrying an image of a Spitfire .