A BLACKHEATH memorial service has been held for a Second World War fighter pilot who was shot down and later died.

Dignitaries gathered at The Point, the spot where Flight Lieutenant Richard ‘Dickie’ Reynell was shot down and where his permanent memorial is located.

The Hawker Hurricane fighter pilot was repeatedly hit during fierce fighting at the height of the Battle of Britain on September 6 1940 while being chased by two German Messerschmitt fighters.

Despite receiving what would become fatal injuries, he managed to steer his stricken craft away from a nearby school and convent before crashing, the service heard. He was just 28 years old.

The event was part of the Shoreham Aircraft Museum’s RAF Memorials Project, which aims to honour every fallen Battle of Britain pilot within the area they fell.

It was joined by historian and family friend Andrew Rennie along with David Caillard, the pilot's great nephew.

As part of the service, a bugler sounded the Last Post before a short period of silence for the Australian-born pilot

Greenwich Council Councillor Chris Roberts said: "He was one of the famous ‘Few’ who through their incredible skill and bravery came to the rescue of an entire nation when the threat of enemy invasion seemed a very real and frightening prospect.

"It’s a clear reflection of Flight Lieutenant  Reynell’s sense of duty and sacrifice, that even when his death must have looked likely, his thoughts were not about his own well-being but of the safety of civilians on the ground. 

"He is one of the many thousands of military personnel who share with the Royal Borough, a sense of history which goes back several hundreds of years."