This is a one off! Richard Hillary, famous Battle of Britain spitfire pilot who wrote THE wartime account of the Battle had a friend on the squadron named Basil Gerald ‘Stapme’ Stapleton. Stapleton is mentioned a number of times in the book and took off with Hillary on his last combat mission when he was shot down and severely burnt ( see quote from the book on the drawing ). The highly detailed pencil drawing by Steve Teasdale of Richard Hillary has been signed directly underneath the portrait in pencil by Stapme himself. The bookplate measures approximately 200x140 mm and would fit most books on the Battle of Britain, including Hillary’s own classic, The Last Enemy. The border does also allow for the bookplate to be made slightly smaller if necessary. This is the ONLY bookplate signed directly on the paper by Basil Stapleton we have in stock.