HERO PILOT INSPIRES PUPILS 80 YEARS ON

RAF crash flyer gave his life to save school

- ADAM ASPINALL

A HEROIC Spitfire pilot who gave his life during the Second World War to save 1,000 children is still inspiring youngsters 80 years later.

On March 24, 1943, Flying Officer Raimund Sanders Draper steered his fighter away from their school when his engine failed soon after take-off.

He stayed in the cockpit to make sure it didn't hit the school in Hornchurch, East London, now named after him.

The American volunteer, aged 29 and with RAF No 64 squadron, steered the Spitfire into the nearby field, saving the lives of the pupils but losing his own.

Yesterday the school, then known as Suttons Senior School, paid homage to his sacrifice by unveiling a plaque.