F/Lt. F. W. Rushmer was killed on 5th September 1940 at 10:00hrs. His Spitfire I (X4261) was shot down in a fierce dogfight with a Bf 109 over the Weald of Kent.
Frederick was buried in the village churchyard at Staplehurst.
Because two pilots were unaccounted for that day, his gravestone was marked:
'An airman of the 1939 - 1945 War, Royal Air Force - Known unto God.'

Frederick W. Rushmer was finally honored 58 years later after a remarkable crusade which lasted 8 years by a 64 year old woman (Jean Liddicoat) to prove the grave was rightfully that of F.W. Rushmer.