It wasn’t all bad

Two Welsh builders who found a trove of classic film posters beneath a carpet have sold them for £72,000. In 1985, the men were renovating a house in Penarth when they found some 70 prints – dating from 1936 to 1941 – being used as underlay. The previous owner, a former cinema manager, had died, so they were allowed to take them home. Thirtytwo years on, the pair put them up for auction hoping to raise a few hundred pounds for their retirement. “They are honest hardworking people who have landed a bit of a jackpot,” said the auctioneer.

A Polish fighter pilot who took part in the Battle of Britain has become the runaway winner of the RAF Museum’s poll to find “The People’s Spitfire Pilot”, thanks largely to the support of his countrymen both in the UK and in Poland. Franciszek Kornicki (right), who lives in a care home in West Sussex, and recently celebrated his 100th birthday, received 325,000 votes – nearly 320,000 more than Douglas Bader, who came second with 6,300.

Born in Wereszyn, Mr Kornicki joined the Polish Air Force academy as a cadet. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, he was determined – like many of his comrades – to carry on the resistance elswhere. Having first fought in France, he arrived in Britain in 1940, where he joined 303 squadron – one of 16 Polish squadrons that were attached to the RAF. In 1943, aged just 26, he took command of 308 squadron. After the War, he married a British woman, and served as an RAF officer for more than 20 years. He described himself as “surprised and a little bewildered” by his success in the poll. “I was just one of many and there were far more distinguished pilots than me flying,” he said.