John Agorastos Plagis was born in Rhodesia of Greek parents, in 1919. He failed to gain entry into the Rhodesian Air Force, due to his Greek parentage, so applied to join the RAF, who desperately needed pilots. Following completion of his flying training, he was posted to Malta and on 6th March 1942, his Spitfire left the deck of HMS Eagle to enter the cauldron that was Malta!

Plagis flew with great skill and courage in defence of this beleaguered island and would score the majority of his combat kills during this time. He was awarded the DFC for his actions, but would suffer complete mental and physical exhaustion, which required evacuation to England.

He was later to command No 126 Squadron, flying this beautiful Spitfire IX. Four Luftwaffe fighters were to fall to the guns of this Spitfire, before his squadron re-equipped with the Mustang III. Plagis ended the war with 15 aerial victories.