Of all the achievements that came to symbolise Britain's contribution to the Second World War, the Spitfire aeroplane is one of the most enduring.

The name Peter John Richards, carved on Borehamwood's war memorial, remembers a Spitfire pilot who came from the town, but died when he was 21-years-old, on January 22, 1944.

Peter grew up at the Challenge Rubber Works in Drayton Road, owned by his father Frank W Richards, and now the site of a housing estate.

He went to the council-run school Furzehill Road, before attending the Queen Elizabeth Grammer School in Barnet.

His younger brother Bruce, who now lives in Sheffield, said that before the war started Peter had been a keen sportsman: "He played in the first 11 at cricket for Queen Elizabeth Grammer School, and in the first 15 in rugger.

"He was a keen chess player, and he was also interested in athletics; in 1938 he got the standard at White City for discus throwing.

"But, like so many young lads who went off and joined up at 19, he was still developing his personality and interests - once they joined up the service became their whole lives."