Look to the sky this Saturday and you might just be able to catch a glimpse of something special.

In what is sure to be a photogenic event, the NHS Spitfire is scheduled to fly over Basingstoke hospital at 3.42pm on Saturday, August 1.

Since the NHS’s 72nd Birthday on the July 5, people have been offered the chance to nominate the name of a loved one to be hand written onto family-owned Aircraft Restoration Company’s iconic, blue Spitfire as it takes flight to raise money for NHS Charities Together.

During this time the Photo-Reconnaissance Spitfire will also be carrying a very special message: ‘THANK U NHS’.

The public will be able to view progress updates and carefully planned flight routes via the Aircraft Restoration Company Instagram, Facebook and website.

Basingstoke Gazette:

As well as the Spitfire’s usual local operations around it’s home base of IWM Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, specifically planned routes will fly past communities and hospitals around mainland UK.

Flight routes are being updated throughout the duration of the donation window, which will close on Sunday 20th September 2020 to align with the Spitfire closing the show at the IWM Duxford’s Battle of Britain Air Show.

“The response to our initial flight over the last 8pm #clapforourcarers Thursday was incredibly humbling, with hundreds of people from the local community sharing how wonderful it was to not only see the Spitfire, but also to read the message emblazoned across its wings," John Romain, founder and managing director of Aircraft Restoration Company said.

"After such positive response we decided to leave the message painted on the Spitfire for the rest of the flying season, this is where the idea to hand write the names of the nation’s loved ones onto the aircraft to raise money for the NHS Charities Together began.”

Basingstoke Gazette:

To submit a name, the public will simply need to donate a minimum of £10 via the campaign’s JustGiving page - which can be found here - fundraising for the NHS Charities Together, whose funds support staff, patients and volunteers across the country.

They will then need to state their loved one’s name and reason for nomination in their donation comment.

The aim is to lift the spirits of those across the UK, many of whom are still living in some form of isolation, whilst also thanking the hospitals, communities and individuals who have been at the forefront of getting the country through the pandemic.