An unexpected sight on a quiet path in the English countryside near the village of King's Somborne in Hampshire.
What is the story?

A trawl of the web and subsequent email contacts revealed that a German bomber, a JU 88, was shot down in this area. The plane crashed, burst into flames and all the crew were killed. It was returning from an attack on Abingdon airfield near Oxford and was shot down by a Spitfire from Middle Wallop airfield nearby. Two Spitfires were involved, one piloted by the fighter ace P/O Bob Doe and the other by Squadron Leader J. O'Brien. The bomber did not actually crash at this site but a mile or two away on the north side of King's Somborne. And the date was the 21st and not 23rd August 1940 as stated on the stone. The memorial was placed here in 1951 and the slight mistake in the date may be because the 23rd was when it was reported in the local paper. Since the stone was placed there, the identity of the four airmen has in fact been established.

They were the crew of a Junker 88 that was part of Staffel I of Kampfgeschwader 54, then based at Evreux west of Paris. This squadron, known by the nickname "Totenkopf" (Skull), was part of Luftflotte 3, under the command of Hugo Sperrle.