BOAC Flight 777 - Legacy of The Disaster

Legacy of The Disaster

The downing of BOAC Flight 777 elicited headlines around the world and there was widespread public grief, especially for the loss of Leslie Howard, who was championed as a martyr. The British government condemned the downing of BOAC Flight 777 as a war crime. The public's attention shifted focus as other events occurred. Nonetheless, two authoritative works examined the circumstances of the downing of BOAC Flight 777: in 1957, journalist Ian Colvin's book on the disaster entitled Flight 777: The Mystery of Leslie Howard and in 1984, Howard's son, Ronald Howard, wrote a biography of his father, including an account of his father's death.

In 2003, on the 60th anniversary of the downing of Flight 777, a pair of television documentaries on the subject were released. The BBC series Inside Out produced a significant document, as did the History Channel, which broadcast a documentary entitled: Vanishings! Leslie Howard – Movie Star or Spy?

In 2009 the grandson of Ivan Sharp, who lives in Norwich and has the same name as his grandfather, arranged for a memorial plaque for the crew and passengers of BOAC Flight 777 to be dedicated at the Lisbon Airport. On 1 June 2010, a similar plaque, paid for by Mr. Sharp, was unveiled at Whitchurch Airport in Bristol and a brief memorial was held by friends and family of the those killed on the flight.

Currently production in 2010 is finishing of the documentary film “Leslie Howard: A Quite Remarkable Life”, which includes commentary on the ill-fated flight and is narrated by Derek Partridge, who at the age of seven gave up his seat on BOAC Flight 777 for Leslie Howard and Alfred T. Chenhalls and later in life, became a television and screen actor.