The youngest Spitfire pilot to fly in the Battle of Britain has died at the age of 96.
Geoffrey Wellum, who was just 18 when he joined the RAF in August 1939, died at his home in Cornwall on Wednesday night, the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust said.
One of the Few, some of his first combat missions during World War Two included dogfights above London and the Home Counties for which the Battle of Britain became known.
The decorated airman, who served on the front line with the prestigious 92 Squadron, once said: You didnt have time to be frightened – you were busy flying for your life, really.
In 2013, speaking of losing comrades, he said: You just had to accept it, get on with living and remember absent friends.
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Once you let your imagination run away you might just as well fly into the ground and kill yourself.
Mr Wellum flew between 50 and 60 flights over that summer, and once said: If you were in one-on-one combat and you could see the man behind you trying to shoot you down, you knew the meaning of the word fear.
I found myself on one occasion fairly calmly saying to myself, “Im going to die”.
Mr Wellum, born in Essex in 1921, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and promoted to Flight Commander with 65 Squadron, before later leading eight Spitfires from HMS Furious to relieve Malta.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Trusts secretary Patrick Tootal said members of the charitys staff and volunteers had been much saddened by the news.
He added: Only this week Sqn Ldr Wellum had been talking enthusiastically about attending the Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey on 16 September.
Speaking in 2013, Mr Wellum told how he was sent out to fly while still in his teens.
Somebody said: “Heres a Spitfire – fly it, and if you break it there will be bloody hell to pay”, he said.
I ended with 146 hours of flying time.
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Looking at my life now, I had peaked at about 21 or 22.
It was just lovely blokes, all together in Fighter Squadron.
Mr Wellum stayed on in the RAF until 1960 and went on to write a best-seller about his experiences in the war – his 2002 memoir First Light.
The book was later adapted into a film for BBC television.
Mr Wellums death follows that of Wing Commander Tom Ginger Neil last Wednesday.
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