Spitfire waggles it wings in farewell flypast to honour Battle of Britain hero
A Battle of Britain pilot who died in his 100th year was paid a final fitting tribute - as a lone spitfire flew over his funeral cortege.
Squadron Leader Nigel Rose was one of “The Few” pilots who fought off the German Luftwaffe in the skies of southern England in the summer of 1940.
The brave pilots battled wave after wave of enemy aircraft before finally they emerged triumphant.
The well preserved spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight waggled its wings in a final farewell to Mr Rose as airmen pall bearers carried his coffin to the village church at Llanigon near Hay-on-Wye.
Squadron Leader Rose - who died this month aged 99 - shot down four Nazi planes and survived a dog fight with a Messerschmitt 110 over the English Channel, during his courageous service in the Second World War.
To mark his burial a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight performed three flypasts over St Eignon Church in Llanigon where he lived for 50 years.
Mr Rose’s sad passing means there are only 11 Battle of Britain pilots, dubbed ‘The Few’ by Winston Churchill, still with us.
His daughter, novelist Barbara Erskine, said: “On his 90th birthday we gave him a flight in a two-seater Spitfire. They normally only have one seat. He even took over the controls from the pilot while they were in the air.”