Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth, AFC (22 March 1899 – 27 September 1942) was a Royal Air Force pilot and the first man to exceed 400 miles per hour.

In February 1939, he returned to Central Flying School Upavon as Officer Commanding Examining and Handling Flight.

In June 1940, Stainforth and Stanford Tuck, the Battle of Britain ace, were posted to Farnborough in south central England.

His task was to take part in comparison trials of a captured Messerschmitt Bf 109E and a Supermarine Spitfire Mark II.

At the end of that year, the squadron was posted to the Middle East, and on the night of 27 September 1942, Wing Commander Stainforth was killed in action while piloting Bristol Beaufighter serial X7700 at Gharib, near the Gulf of Suez.

Following his death, a dossier was compiled by his friends detailing many of his achievements, recorded remarks and memories of him by distinguished officers and men who served with him during his lifetime.

89 Squadron Reunion Club, to commemorate the long and distinguished career, both as an aviator and as a Royal Air Force officer, of Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth.

In the design of the trophy, the artist has tried to show the Earth as seen by the astronauts, vapour trails ending in arrows to depict high speed altitude flight, and with an outward sweep to infinity, which suggests that the sky is literally the limit of man's achievement in the air.

Into his design, he has incorporated a star and its orbit to evoke the achievements of science and the Royal Air Force motto Per ardua ad astra.

Made of hardwood and covered in a copper sheath, the vane was erected above Weymouth College chapel in 1932, but moved for safety at the start of World War II.

In 1996, the vane had to be taken down after the effects of years of sea spray and coastal winds had taken their toll, but it has since been restored and is now back in the gardens.