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THE "WULFRUN" AND THE STORY OF FLIGHT LIEUTENANT WILLIAM THOMAS JOHNSTONE

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This is the story of The Wulfrun Spitfire plane, and its Canadian pilot, Flight Lieutenant William Thomas Johnstone.

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The plane was paid for as a result of fundraising appeals in Wolverhampton.

 

On April 14, 1943, it was shot down, and Johnstone was spotted waving from his dinghy as he drifted in the sea. He was never seen again. 

 

Squadron Leader Don Ball was shot down and killed while looking for him. The plane probably lies now at the bottom of the ocean. 

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Johnstone's name is inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial.

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We are a group based at the Orchard Centre, Wolverhampton. We heard this story, and we wondered what would bring someone like Johnstone to leave his home in Canada, to join the war.

 

How would he feel about leaving? And what about the people he left behind?

 

We explored these questions through drama, and made this short film.

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