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Image shows the five metre high bronze statue sculpted by Graham Ibbeson representing Arthur Louis Aaron (1922-1943). It is located at the bottom of Eastgate which can be seen behind the statue. On the night of the 12th August 1943 Flight Sergeant Aaron was piloting a Stirling aircraft in an attack on Turin. The plane was hit and badly damaged and Flight Sergeant Aaron was wounded. Amazingley, he continued to fly the plane over the Mediterranean and made three attempts to land it at Bone in Algeria. On running out of fuel the plane crash landed on the airfield and the survivors were pulled from the wreckage. The young man died of his injuries in hospital and he now lies in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Bone. In recognition of his immense bravery Arthur Aaron was posthumously awarded the Victorian Cross and the Distinguished Flying Medal. They were presented to Leeds by his parents in 1947 and may be viewed in Leeds City Museum. The statue was unveiled by the last surviving member of Flight Sergeant Aaron's crew, Malcolm Mitchem from Andover, Hampshire on Saturday, 24th March 2001. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. | License: | http://www.leodis.net/article.aspx?id=12 | Rights holder: | Leeds Central Library | Subjects: | Eastgate statue Arthur Aaron war | Source: | Leodis - A photographic archive of Leeds | Identifier: | http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?id=20... | Go to resource |
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