 The unveiling of the Memorial to the "Saviour of Stafford" 4th July 2007 | In Memory of Captain John Pershing Perrin  5th November 1918 - 4th July 1944 |
On the 4th July 2007, the 63rd anniversary of Captain Perrin's death a memorial was erected on the sight of the crash to commemorate the decorated pilot's supreme act of heroism. The memorial is located at Pro-Logis Park, Stafford and we are very proud to have been involved in the production of such an impressive lasting tribute to a World War Two hero.
For many years, the local parish council of Creswell had wanted to erect a suitable memorial in his memory, but it wasn't until the clerk heard about ProLogis' new ProLogis Park Stafford development - which is just yards away from the crash site - that the idea took off. The specialist warehouse developer financed the 6ft Derbyshire-quarried memorial stone - which bears a picture plaque of the pilot carved in Welsh slate - and co-ordinated the event on behalf of the parish council. The Anglo-American ceremony was attended by three generations of the pilot's family, and the unveiling was performed by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire and the Assistant Air Attaché to the US Embassy.
Our involvement came about after Robert Nicholls Funeral Directors were approached for advice on the design and production of the slate picture plaque. Robert contacted us as and the project got underway. Drawings were produced and our specialist hand carver, Armano Zaffardi, helped in fine tuning the design working towards the finished work of art.
Of course there is a story behind the Memorial and hopefully this tribute to Captain Perrin's bravery will be a reminder to the people of Stafford for generations to come of how one man died so that many others might live. The crash was witnessed by a seven year old pupil at Holmcroft Primary School, Stanley Jones, who now lives in Oregan, USA. His full and fascinating account of that day in 1944 was published online in the BBC's "World War Two Peoples War" Web Page Project. The story is told in three parts and can be found by CLICKING HERE. There is no doubt that Captain Perrin's bravery prevented his plane crashing on Stafford and saved many lives.
In the Photo Gallery of this section of our website are some interesting pictures which illustrate how the plaque was carved and shows off the talents of our specialist hand carver Armano. As well as him assisting us with commissions such as this he also has turned his artistic skills to producing some beautiful carvings on some of our bespoke memorial designs.
For many years, the local parish council of Creswell had wanted to erect a suitable memorial in his memory, but it wasn't until the clerk heard about ProLogis' new ProLogis Park Stafford development - which is just yards away from the crash site - that the idea took off. The specialist warehouse developer financed the 6ft Derbyshire-quarried memorial stone - which bears a picture plaque of the pilot carved in Welsh slate - and co-ordinated the event on behalf of the parish council. The Anglo-American ceremony was attended by three generations of the pilot's family, and the unveiling was performed by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire and the Assistant Air Attaché to the US Embassy.
Our involvement came about after Robert Nicholls Funeral Directors were approached for advice on the design and production of the slate picture plaque. Robert contacted us as and the project got underway. Drawings were produced and our specialist hand carver, Armano Zaffardi, helped in fine tuning the design working towards the finished work of art.
Of course there is a story behind the Memorial and hopefully this tribute to Captain Perrin's bravery will be a reminder to the people of Stafford for generations to come of how one man died so that many others might live. The crash was witnessed by a seven year old pupil at Holmcroft Primary School, Stanley Jones, who now lives in Oregan, USA. His full and fascinating account of that day in 1944 was published online in the BBC's "World War Two Peoples War" Web Page Project. The story is told in three parts and can be found by CLICKING HERE. There is no doubt that Captain Perrin's bravery prevented his plane crashing on Stafford and saved many lives.
In the Photo Gallery of this section of our website are some interesting pictures which illustrate how the plaque was carved and shows off the talents of our specialist hand carver Armano. As well as him assisting us with commissions such as this he also has turned his artistic skills to producing some beautiful carvings on some of our bespoke memorial designs.