~ The Battle of Britain Free House Double Sided Hand Painted Pub Sign ~
A large hand painted vintage wooden pub sign for ‘The Battle of Britain’ free house.
The sign is of wood with framing to three sides.
It is hand-painted to both sides with the image of a WW2 Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane. One side is a view of the plane flying towards the viewer; the other side is the view of the plane from behind.
Both sides read ‘The Battle of Britain’ to the upper edge and ‘Free House’ to the lower edge.
The only reference we can find of a pub with the name ‘The Battle of Britain’ was in Gravesend, Northwest Kent. This would fit as we purchased this sign in Kent.
The Battle of Britain pub was originally a wooden hut, created by RAF personnel in 1947. It was built to commemorate the wartime event, when Gravesend was the first RAF station to operate the American P-51 Mustang III long-range single-seat fighter-bomber.
In 1961, the owners of the pub purchased Shears Green House, which became the ‘new’ Battle of Britain pub. The old hut was demolished in May 1962.
In 2016 the Battle of Britain pub was sadly demolished without warning.
~ Dimensions ~
The sign measures 98cm (38 ½ inches) by 129cm (51 inches).
It weighs 15.4 Kg
~ Condition ~
Despite having spent many years outdoors in all weathers the sign is in really good condition.
There are of course signs of age wear with some flaking/raising of paintwork and wear to the frame but it is free from damages and as solid as the day it was made.