Plzen, West Bohemia, May 6 (CTK) – A new monument was unveiled in Karlov, a bygone neighbourhood of the town of Plzen on Sunday in commemoration of seven Czechoslovak pilots who were born here and served in the RAF during World War Two.
The monument, initiated by the local military history group, was unveiled by members of the families of Miloslav Petr, Karel Posta and Stanislav Peroutka, the three of the pilots who perished in the war.
The other four, Oldrich Horejsi, Jiri Schwarz, Vilem Soukup and Jindrich Zarecky, returned to Czechoslovakia after the war, but after the communist coup in 1948 they returned to Britain, Filip Prochazka, from the military history group, told CTK.
At the unveiling ceremony, homage to the heroes was paid by Defence Minister Karla Slechtova (for ANO) and Plzen Deputy Mayor Martin Baxa (Civic Democrats, ODS).
The seven pilots’ fates remained practically unknown until recently, which changed as a result of a lucky coincidence.
“In 2015, we staged an exhibition on Czechoslovak RAF pilots at several places in Britain. It was visited by Mike Hitches, a nephew of [the late pilot] Miloslav Petr’s fiancee. He showed interest in the exhibition and decided to convey the relevant inheritance to us,” Prochazka said.
The group wanted to unveil a plaque commemorating Petr on his native house, but it turned out that there are no houses in Karlov any more, except for a gym. A further research uncovered the fate of the other pilots born in Plzen-Karlov.
