On Friday 24 May at 12:00 a new memorial will be unveiled at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery grave of the Russian aviation pioneer Victor Dibovsky. Dibovsky was the first pilot to detect a submerged submarine in 1911, and first Russian to use radio on an aircraft. In 1912 he covered the distance between Sevastopol and St Petersburg in 25 flight hours, a record at the time. In 1913 he designed an airplane, «Dolphin», remarkable for outstanding aerodynamic qualities.
During the First World War Victor Dibovsky fought bravely in the 20 Corps aviation group, earning orders of St George (award for gallantry in action), St Stanislaus, St Vladimir and a number of medals. He was the inventor of the Scarff-Dibovski synchronization gear, used by the UK Royal Naval Air Service.
In 1916 he came to London as a head of Russian naval air mission. The revolution prevented him from coming back to Russia. In 1953 he died in London and was buried in a paupers’ grave. The grave was identified in 2011 by the researcher Roman Firsov who placed an Orthodox cross there. The new gravestone has been erected thanks to the joint effort of Russian Heritage Society and Mr Firsov, Russian Embassy in London and «Voinsky Sobor» Foundation (St Petersburg). Russian Heritage in the UK Society has been working since 2016 to study and promote the Russian-British shared history and the legacy of prominent Russians who lived in Britain.
Venue:
St Pancras and Islington Cemetery
Islington & St Pancras Cemetery, High Road, East Finchley, N2 9A
Area СН1
We invite everyone to join us in remembrance of the WW1 hero!
