Legion president flies in Spitfire for 90th birthday

THE president of the Henley branch of the Royal British Legion celebrated his 90th birthday with a flight in a Spitfire.

John Green, who turned 90 in July, was surprised by his family with the chance to fly in a two-seater Supermarine Spitfire with a Merlin engine manufactured by Rolls-Royce.

During the 30-minute flight Mr Green was given the chance to fly the dual control aircraft and also endured four victory rolls, which is a 360-degree roll performed horizontally.

Mr Green, who lives in Maidensgrove, said he was “still up in the air” following the experience. “I will never get over it,” he said. “The sound of the Merlin engine was incredible.

“I had the amazing experience of being in control of one of the most iconic aeroplanes that ever existed.

“We were flying over Kent and the thought occurred to me that, all those years before, these clear blue skies were full of dogfights between the RAF and the German planes.

“As a non-flying person, sitting in a Spitfire with its history, it wasn’t being in an aeroplane, it was like being in a bird.

“A lot of people have said that in the past and it’s true. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

The plane Mr Green flew in was originally built as a single-seater in May 1944 but was later purchased by manufacturers Vickers-Armstrongs and converted into a dual control.

The plane has US Air Force markings on it as, for a while, it flew with the 309th Fighter Squadron.

Mr Green was watched on from the ground by his family and friends, including his children, Robert and Susan.

Mr Green said that to the surprise of his family and friends, he didn’t feel sick during the aileron rolls.

He said: “Everyone expected I would but, luckily, I was okay. Funnily enough, I never originally liked heights particularly and I started to get rid of that years ago.”

The flight took place at Biggin Hill, which was a former RAF station that was central to Britain’s role during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Over the course of the war, fighters based at Biggin Hill claimed 1,400 enemy aircraft, at the cost of the lives of 453 Biggin Hill-based aircrew.

The base also has a special familial connection to Mr Green and his elder sister Mary served at the RAF station during the war. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force at the age of 17 and was at Biggin Hill in 1940. She was part of a team that communicated directly with the pilots from the ground.

Mr Green said he was also thinking about his late friend, Flight Lieutenant Robin Appleford, who lived in Henley and was one of the youngest fighter pilots who flew with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain.

Flt Lt Appleford died in 2012 and his ashes are interred at St Mary’s Church. He was shot down over the Thames Estuary during a dogfight in 1940 but bailed out, escaping slightly wounded.

Mr Green said: “It was the most memorable event but when we landed, I was quite emotional. All I could think of was those young chaps aged 18 or 19 who had been up in similar planes saving this country from domination by Germany. The experience will never leave me.”