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King's Seat Hill Spitfires

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King's Seat Hill Spitfires A local at the time described the weather as being cold, with wet sleet, snow on the ground and low cloud.

This page is dedicated to three young men that came to this country in its time of need during the Second World War, two still remain here. At approximately 1200hrs on Saturday 16 January 1943, three Spitfires flying as ‘Red Section’ on a formation flying exercise from RAF Grangemouth crashed onto the southern face of King’s Seat Hill in bad weather. The aircraft were to conduct formation flying in the vicinity of RAF Grangemouth where the weather conditions were; cloud base 2000 feet, visibility 3-4 miles. This was deemed fit for formation flying led by instructors however, for some reason, the aircraft departed the airfield and ended up over the Ochils. This is the story of the accident, a story of tragedy and survival.

23/08/2026

Forgot to add this photo of a half-moon over Grangemouth last night, as seen from King’s Seat Hill. The aircraft departed from Grangemouth late Saturday morning on 16 January 1943.

23/08/2026

Just back from our annual overnight stay at the Cairn. The Cairn is still looking good (after 17 years) and we just had to brighten up the lettering. We do this annual pilgrimage out of respect for the three pilots and their wider families; their sacrifice is not forgotten here in Scotland.

26/02/2026

Today we remember the survivor, Vin Daly on the anniversary of his passing. Vin’s name could so easily have been engraved onto the memorial wall in Grangemouth, alongside Bud Reynolds and Gordie Duda. Two things prevented that. Firstly, Vin saw the hill looming ahead and reacted instantly. Secondly, he possessed an unyielding determination to survive. It was a truly remarkable feat of endurance and will.

22/02/2026

I was contacted a while back by a YouTuber who asked for permission to use material from King’s Seat Hill Spitfires to make a video.
I said ‘yes’ as it would spread the story to a wider audience and keep the memory alive. I’m really pleased with the final product.

I hope I have retold the story of this sad tragedy with both sensitivity and accuracy. I must especially thank Lt Col Brian Cuthbert - Imrie for allowing me ...

16/01/2026

Unfortunately Raymond and I could not visit the cairn today, the 83rd anniversary of the accident. However, we both managed to pay our respects to Bud and Gordie at Grandsable.

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