Battle of Britain hero laid to rest

A Spitfire took to the skies over St Alphege's Church in Solihull where mourners turned out for the funeral of war hero Ken Wilkinson, who died last month aged 99.

Ken, who lived in Solihull, was among the brave men famously dubbed 'The Few' by Sir Winston Churchill following their efforts repelling Hitler's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

He never lost his wit, once jokingly rebuking Prince William for 'flying choppers instead of proper aeroplanes'.

His coffin, draped in a Union flag, was carried into the church by soldiers from the RAF regiment as well-wishers looked on.

Mourners broke into spontaneous applause as a silver Spitfire BBMF roared over the church on three occasions.

Following Ken's death, The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust described him as a 'true gentleman who we shall miss dearly'.

There are now just three surviving Spitfire pilots from the Battle of Britain.

Ken was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, the son of an aircraft manufacturer, and found his love for flying while watching aircraft tests at Farnborough.

At the outbreak of war he was selected for the Royal Air Force and chosen to fly a Spitfire. Assigned to 616 and 19 Squadrons in East Anglia, he was among the brave airmen whose role was to protect industrial targets in the Midlands from the Luftwaffe.

In a 2015 interview, he said: “I didn’t carry any lucky charms, but I did wear a pair of my wife’s knickers around my neck.

"And I was one of the lucky ones. I saw friends fall out of the sky, aircraft go up in flames... terrible things.”

In the same year he met the Duke of Cambridge during celebrations for the centenary of 29 (Reserve) Squadron at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.