Dead at 99, the oldest of The Few: Downed Spitfire pilot cheered by crowds as he reached shore

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Dead at 99, the oldest of The Few: Downed Spitfire pilot cheered by crowds as he reached shore

• William Walker died on Sunday after surviving being shot down over the Channel in 1940 with a bullet in his ankle
• He clung onto his Spitfire and was rescued by a fishing boat off Ramsgate
• William became a celebrated poet and dedicated his time to memory of his fallen comrades

By Paul Harris

PUBLISHED:05:36 EST, 23 October 2012| UPDATED:20:01 EST, 23 October 2012

Hero: William Walker, who at 99 was the oldest remaining Battle of Britain pilot has died

He was the oldest of an ever-dwindling band of heroes, the Battle of Britain airmen who put their lives on the line for freedom.

But Spitfire pilot William Walker always insisted he was just doing his job, never accepting he was brave.

Yesterday, after his death at the age of 99, tributes were paid to a veteran who helped to stave off a Nazi invasion – and who left a legacy that will forever speak just as loud as his deeds.

The Second World War flight lieutenant spent a lifetime championing The Few, raised money in their memory and wrote poetry in praise of their sacrifice.

Weeks before he died on Sunday, after suffering a stroke at his home in West London, he was happily answering questions from schoolchildren who had asked him for first-hand accounts to help with a history project.

‘He knew how important it was that we continue to tell the story of what he and the rest of The Few did in 1940,’ said Battle of Britain Memorial Trust chairman Richard Hunting.

‘He was a warm, engaging and friendly man who always had a twinkle in his eye.’

Only 60 known Battle of Britain veterans are alive today.

Flt Lt Walker’s story is typical of many of them – young men who served with the RAF as Hitler and the Luftwaffe prepared to invade Britain.

Brave: William Walker looking at the nose of a Spitfire - the type of plane he was shot down in in 1940

Celebrated: William enjoys a laugh and a drink with the Prince of Wales at an event for RAF veterans

Royal approval: Stood with the Duchess of Cornwall and a magnificent Spitfire in the background at Capel Le Ferne in Kent

Proud: William Walker's ode to his dead comrades - Absent Friends - is still read at special events before a toast to them

Two days after celebrating his 27th birthday he was scrambled to attack a large German bomber force heading for targets which included RAF stations at Biggin Hill and Kenley.

In a dogfight over the Channel with Messerschmitt 109s, his plane was hit and badly damaged. He was shot in the right ankle and baled out at 20,000ft.

THE GLORIOUS FEW WHO STOOD BETWEEN US AND NAZI DOMINATION

They fought the most important battle this country ever faced and their victory saved Britain from the tyranny of Nazi Germany.

The heroes of the Battle of Britain repelled Hitler’s Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940, although only around 70 of them are still alive.

At the time were in their late teens or early 20s when they took to the skies in Spitfires and Hurricanes from July to October 1940. Others flew in Blenheims, Beaufighters and Defiants, becoming the ‘aces’ of the Battle, shooting down plane after plane.

During the Battle, Sir Winston Churchill said: ‘The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed throughout the world, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion.

‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’

When it was over, 544 RAF pilots and aircrew were dead and had made the ultimate sacrifice to keep generations of Britons safe.

Landing in the water, he managed to swim to a wrecked ship on a sandbank and was picked up by a fishing boat some time later, bleeding and suffering from hypothermia.

He was applauded by crowds when taken ashore at Ramsgate. ‘They cheered me up the harbour steps and a woman gave me a packet of cigarettes,’ he would later recall.

After the war he resumed his work in the brewing trade and rose to become chairman of Ind Coope, a role previously held by his father.

But he never forgot The Few.

Two years ago he and a dozen other RAF veterans and their wives were taken on a 70th anniversary Battle of Britain memorial flight and given a guard-of-honour escort by a Hurricane and Spitfire flying alongside.

‘Beautiful aircraft,’ he told me as he watched the Spitfire. ‘I’d love to fly one again.’

William Walker often read his poetry at memorial events. One is set in stone.

It is inscribed alongside 2,936 names on the Kent coast’s Capel-le-Ferne memorial to those who served in the most critical action of the war, a permanent reminder of their dedication and sacrifice:

Behind each name a story lies Of bravery in summer skies, Though many brave unwritten tales Were simply told in vapour trails.

In later life he dedicated a huge amount of time to the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust.

Active until the very end, despite the aches and pains associated with his advanced years, William had been planning to attend the Trust’s End of the Battle Gala Dinner in the presence of the Patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent last Thursday but he suffered a stroke and was taken to hospital where he later died.

His absence was made even more poignant by the fact that in recent years it had become traditional for William to raise a toast to his fellow Battle of Britain pilots after reading his poem 'Absent Friends'.

Mr Walker wrote: 'Those unwell and far away, Those who never lived to see, The end of war and victory, And every friend who passed our way, Remembered as of yesterday, It's absent friends we miss the most, To all, let's drink a loving toast.'

In 2011 his poems were published with the proceeds donated to the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust.

Richard Hunting CBE, chairman of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, said: 'Flight Lieutenant William Walker was a warm, engaging and friendly man who always had a twinkle in his eye.

'He worked hard for the trust and gave freely of his time to help with fundraising for The Wing - which is the trust's planned new building at the Capel-le-Ferne site of the national memorial to The Few.

'He was much loved by his fellow veterans, his family and friends and all of us at the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust.

'He was regularly prevailed upon to recite one of his poems at trust events and signed many copies of his book to help raise money for The Wing.

'He knew how important it was that we continue to tell the story of what he and the rest of the Few did in 1940.'

Flt Lt William Walker, born August 24 1913, died October 21 2012

 

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