Battle of Britain hero dies after 100th birthday celebration
A BATTLE of Britain veteran who died hours after celebrating his 100th birthday has been described as an inspiration.
Archie McInnes’ death takes the number of surviving members of The Few to five.
Mr McInnes (right), who flew Hurricanes during the battle in the skies over southern England, completed his pilot training at the age of 21 and was commissioned the next day.
He died hours after celebrating his 100th birthday with family and friends on Wednesday.
Biographer and friend Jonny Cracknell wrote on Twitter: “An inspiration and hero of a man — rest in peace, dear Archie.”
He had earlier written to wish Mr McInnes a happy birthday, noting he was the “last of the six remaining Battle of Britain ‘Few’ to become a centenarian”.
Those who fought in the threeand-a-half-month Battle of Britain came to be known as The Few after a speech by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who said of their sacrifices in battle: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Flight Lieutenant McInnes was born on
July 31, 1919 and joined the RAF volunteer reserve in 1938, the year before the war broke out. He completed his pilot training in August 1940 and was commissioned the next day.
He flew Hurricanes with 601 Squadron in Exeter, later moving to 238 Squadron at Chilbolton, Hampshire.
After the Battle of Britain ended on October 31, 1940 he helped hunt for German battleship the Bismarck and was also part of the North African campaign. He was shot down by a Messerschmitt fighter plane on October 30, 1941 and lost his left arm.
He was released from the RAF in 1946 and eventually retired to village life outside Cambridge.
Last year Flt Lt McInnes was pictured beaming with delight as he was taken for a flight in a two-seater Spitfire over Kent.
Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, the Chief of the Air Staff, said: “Flight Lieutenant Archie McInnes was part of an extraordinary band of selfless aviators to whom we owe the freedom we enjoy today.”