THE CHISWICK- dwelling son in law of a wartime fighter pilot legend, has thanked the Earl of March for presenting his disabled achievement charity with a cheque for £26,182.73p - after the three day 1950s 'Revival' motor car racing day at Goodwood, which counts Rowan Atkinson and Pink Floyd members amongst its celebrity entourage.

Douglas Bader became a legend for recovering from a flying accident in 1931 and going on to become a true fighter ace and his antics as one of the most respected leaders during WW2 are well chronicled, such as in the film Reach for the Sky.''

The Douglas Bader Foundation was established immediately following his death in 1982 by his family and closest friends, including his son in law, David Bickers of Chiswick Park, with the aim of continuing his work amongst the disabled community and promoting his philosophy that 'a disabled person who fights back is not handicapped....but is inspired.'

Initially the charity set about raising sufficient funds to create a working memorial to Douglas. In 1993 The Douglas Bader Centre was built at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton in West London, to provide a range of facilities and services for disabled members of the community including a Walking School and Rehab Therapy Groups. Appropriately this hospital had provided Douglas's medical care as an amputee for some 50 years.

The centre was opened by the Charity's then Patron, Diana, Princess of Wales on February 25th 1993.

Following the establishment of the centre the Foundation launched The Douglas Bader Grant Scheme providing support for the pursuance of achievement by those with disabilities. The scheme has assisted countless disabled individuals and groups throughout the UK to achieve a variety of goals within the areas of education, the arts, sport and recreation and small business. The scheme does not provide cash grants to individuals but supplies the required equipment, training, services or further education as needed for each successful application.

Accepting the Earl's cheque last week on behalf of The Douglas Bader Foundation, David Bickers, Chairman of the Foundation and son-in-law of the late WW2 Fighter Ace, thanked the Earl of March on behalf of the Foundation and Lady Bader.

''The Douglas Bader Foundation is extremely grateful to Lord March for such a significant amount raised during the Revival Meeting in this our 20th anniversary year and I would like to thank most sincerely all the public and sponsors who gave so generously.

These much needed funds will be put to excellent use in supporting our latest initiatives, Bader Champs (Child amputees), a programme of week-end sports and leisure activities for families with children who have lost a limb, and Bader walking schools providing training and equipment to hospitals around the world for the benefit of newly traumatic amputees.''

Goodwood has considerable importance in Bader history. It was from here, when the circuit was better known as RAF Westhampnett, that Douglas led the Tangmere Wing of the RAF Fighter Command in the spring and early summer of 1941.

At 10.40 on Monday August 9th, 1941, Douglas took off in his Spitfire from Westhampnett for what became his last operational sortie. Not long into the mission the enemy was engaged in a furious air battle over Northern France, where he was brought down and taken prisoner.

Lord March recently chose to mark the Goodwood/Bader connection by commissioning a statue of this great man and selected a site adjacent to the flying school as its permanent home. The statue was unveilled by His Grace The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, and Lady Bader OBE, Douglas's widow, on 9th August 2001, 60 years to the day after Douglas's last WW2 sortie.

May 30, 2003 12:00