CAMPAIGNERS who are determined to honour a pair of Australian pilots who died in wartime Horndean are getting fed up with playing the waiting game.

Eddie Harmer, Peter Barge and other “Children of Horndean” are still waiting to hear if lottery bosses will support their bid for a memorial off Five Heads Road.

The group were asked to get estimates by a professional fundraising firm in September for a Portland stone memorial to pilots Oswald Mountford and Edward Wicky.

The pair died when their Mosquito crashed into the old parish hall during the evening of February 4, 1945, just three miles short of their base on Thorney Island.

Meon Valley firm, Naked Fundraising, printed 3,000 leaflets and submitted an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund in late 2016, but there’s been little feedback since.

“We’ve probably got between £3,000 and £4,000 when everything is put together but we’re still trying to get the fundraisers to obtain some lottery money,” said Mr Barge.

“But the weeks are slipping by and we’re not getting any knowledge from them.”

“It seems we’re always waiting,” said Mr Harmer, who believes the memorial and surrounding landscaping will cost in the region of £30,000.

“As for our fundraisers, they helped us complete the forms for the Heritage Lottery money and they did print the leaflets, but I thought they would be a lot more active.”

The Post left several messages with Naked Fundraising but the firm did not reply.

The good news is that a couple of district councillors have pledged funding towards the project, while many villagers and veterans have also donated money over the last six months.

“We recently received a cheque from a local gentleman who heard about our project through the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association,” said Mr Barge.

“I’ve never heard of them and I have no idea how they found out, but we’re very grateful for the donation.”

To make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Mosquitopz452 while more information about the project can be found at www.project 71.co.uk/Horndean-remembers