Your club needs you says Basil

At 63, veteran Basil de Souza is the youngest member of his Black Country branch of the RAF Association.

He also happens to be the latest recruit to the group – although he actually signed up 22 years ago.

Basil is now campaigning to get new blood into the branch, based at the Royal British Legion club in Enville Street, Stourbridge. He fears that unless new members come forward, branches across the region are just a few years from dying out with his generation.

He said: "We don't get many new members. The last new member was me – and that was 22 years ago."

Mr de Souza warned that the branch could die out altogether if new members do not come forward.

He said: "There are only five people who are active members now.

"There are 14 of us in total but most of them have ailments of some sort.

"The next youngest member after me is 86, so we do need new blood."

He said many branches were now in a similar situation and faced going under.

The Wings Appeal organiser was out collecting for the veterans' benevolent fund at the weekend as he does every year.

Now retired, the former Dudley Council social services manager and grandfather-of-five was an RAF radio operator.

Basil says his father was adamant his son should not join the air force as he had seen far too many friends killed during the Second World War. But the budding young soldier was undeterred. Basil started his years of service at RAF Bridgnorth but was soon sent up to Edinburgh where he paraded for King Olaf of Norway in Princes Street .

In 1962 he was moved to Wiltshire where he worked as a radio operator, and swiftly moved in May the following year to North Africa, where he was based in the Sahara at El Adem.

"All my family have been in aviation and two of my cousins were wing commanders."

After action Basil decided to train as a teacher and in 1976 began working for Dudley Council.

He has lived in Oldswinford ever since and is a volunteer gardener with wife Diana at the Coach House at St Mary's Church.

"I grow the fruit and she makes the jam," he jokes.

• Members of the Stourbridge RAF branch meet the second Tuesday of every month at the Royal British Legion Club.

For more details on the association contact Rev Tom Chapman on 01384 373921.