Spitfire hero Peter dies aged 97
ASPITFIRE pilot who made his first parachute jump aged 92 has died.
Southport resident Peter Proctor flew the legendary fighter plane after joining the RAF in 1942 and thankfully never had to use his parachute.
But more than 60 years later, the Burma Star Association veteran raised £3,000 for charity after leaping from 13,000ft in the air while strapped to instructor Ian Charnock.
Peter, who had artificial hips and a false knee when he carried out the 120mph jump, remained active throughout his later years, including organising the 60th anniversary VJ Day celebration in the town centre in 2005.
He died aged 97 at Elm House Nursing Home last month.
After joining the RAF at 18, Peter became a pilot and flew Spitfires and Hurricanes, serving in Egypt, India and Burma. When the war he returned to his job as a store keeper in a shoe factory and went on to spend 33 years as a lorry driver.
Olive, his wife of 56 years, died more than 10 years ago but Peter was determined to continue enjoying life.
After his parachute jump in 2014, he said: “It was amazing and very exhilarating.
“I’d definitely do it again. In fact I wouldn’t have minded taking the plane up myself.
“There’s no better feeling for me than being up in the sky, although the whole thing was done and dusted in six or seven minutes.
“I was fortunate I never had to deploy my parachute during the war. It
would have been a nightmare trying to open up the hatches and jump out.”
Peter was a well-known figure around the town, regularly collecting cash for charity at Southport train station and several supermarkets,
He was honoured at Southport Air Show in 2015, when the organisers heard he was on the Royal Air Force Association stand, and invited him to join them before interviewing him over the tannoy.
Afterwards, he said: “They made a real fuss of me. During the live interview they asked me to the name the best plane from my generation, and I said it had to be the Spitfire.
“Members of the public then asked me to pose for photographs.
“It was a wonderful event. There were so many highlights, from the Chinook display, to the arrival of the Vulcan bomber escorted by the Red Arrows. The Mig display was amazing; I’ve never seen a fighter plane drop out of the sky like that. And the Spitfire of course.”
In an interview with the Visiter on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, he spoke of the merits of the Spitfire and Hurricane, saying: “They were both brilliant planes.
“It’s worth remembering that the Hurricanes shot down more enemy plans than the Spitfire. But the Spitfire was a bit quicker, and more manoeuvrable.
“It’s also worth remembering that both planes were up against the The Messerschmitt Bf 109. The ME had a 20mm canon, which could be devastating. They could blow our planes out of the sky.
“When I joined the RAF I was told I had no chance of becoming a pilot due to my lack of qualifications.
“They said I could be a rear gunner in a bomber, which I declined. That was the most dangerous place to be in a plane. I got through the exams and ended up flying Hurricanes and Spitfires.”
A funeral service will take place on at 12.30pm
Peter Proctor on his first parachute jump at the age of 92; at the 2015 Armed Forces Day in Southport, inset; accepting the Person of the Year trophy from Anne Loughrey from the Scottish Power
Foundation at the 2015 Your Heroes Awards on Monday, September 23 at Marshide Methodist Church, before cremation at Southport Crematorium at 2pm.
Instead of flowers, the family are asking for donations to be made to Cancer Research UK or Queenscourt Hospice.