Tributes for one of the last of the Battle for Britain Spitfire pilots
0 Ken Wilkinson talks to the Duke of Cambridge – he told him off for flying ‘choppers’ Tributes have been paid to one of the last remaining Battle of Britain Spitfire pilots after he died aged 99.
Ken Wilkinson, who was among those famously dubbed “The Few” by Winston Churchill, died on Monday, the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust (BBMT) said.
The charismatic former Flying Officer once shared a risque joke with the Duke of Cambridge – also telling him off for “flying choppers” – and was described by the wife of a fellow RAF pilot as one of the “the Brylcreem Boys with a twinkle in their eyes”.
The head of the Raf-led tributes to the former fighter pilot, who battled the Luftwaffe from bases in East Anglia in the desperate days of 1940, when the Nazis threatened to invade the UK.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, the Chief of the Air Staff, said: “Ken, as one of The Few, represented an extraordinary generation to whom we owe a great debt that should never be forgotten, our freedom being won by their sacrifices.”
The chartered surveyor, from Solihull, Birmingham, was born in Barrow-in-furness, Cumbria, the son of an aircraft manufacturer.
He found his love for flying while watching aircraft tests at Farnborough.
At the outbreak of war, he joined the RAF and flew their famous fighter with 616 and 19 Squadrons, protecting industrial targets in the Midlands.
In a 2015 interview for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, he said: “I didn’t carry any lucky charms, but I did wear a pair of my wife’s knickers around my neck.
“And I was one of the lucky ones. I saw friends fall out of the sky, aircraft go up in flames ... terrible things.”
In the same year, he met the Duke of Cambridge during celebrations for the centenary of 29 (Reserve) Squadron at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
Mr Wilkinson said he was “under instruction not to tell dirty stories”, prompting William to request a tale.
He recounted his story about a man called Joe who becomes the captain of his golf club and insists on only being referred to by his new title at a dinner where he receives his honour.
Mr Wilkinson said at the end of the event the man goes home, gets undressed and, as he gets into bed with his wife, announces himself as the “captain”, and she replies “You have to be quick, Joe will be home soon”.
The BBMT said in a statement that it had learned “with great sadness” of Mr Wilkinson’s death, describing him as a “true gentleman who we shall miss dearly”.