What do you give a former Spitfire pilot for his 100th birthday?

The companions of Wing Commander Michael Jones, OBE, at Sherborne’s Abbey View care home where he lives, knew just what to do – grant his wish to see his favourite aircraft up close once more.
Michael had expressed a desire to be near one of the famous small planes he’d once so bravely flown, so his carers arranged a visit to Compton Abbas Airfield, near Shaftesbury.
Abbey View’s Bev de Bruyn said: “Michael, three other residents and two staff members received a warm welcome by the management and staff at Compton Abbas who were delighted to meet him.”
He and his party watched small aircraft take off and land, however, that wasn’t the only surprise for the former Oxford schoolboy who’d dreamed of flying as a child. Michael’s daughter Jennifer drove from Torquay especially for the event – the icing on his aviation cake.
Bev says: “Michael visited the aircraft hangar, where he was particularly fascinated with the Tiger Moth and seemed very moved when he touched its fuselage.
“He also checked the anti-spin structure on the craft, which wasn’t there when he flew them and asked the knowledgeable technicians questions about the planes.”
Michael, pictured right in his RAF uniform, was just 17 when World War Two was declared and when called up to do his National Service, he immediately pursued a career as a pilot. He went on to complete 13 sorties in Spitfires with yet more in the twin-engined versions.
He said: “I wasn’t ever nervous of flying; I think I just knew the job had to be done. What made me most nervous was not knowing where the attack came from.”
Bev said: “Michael may be 100 years old, but he loves the outdoors and has an uncanny sense of the clouds and how the weather is behaving, which was obviously key as a pilot.
“He told us his visit to Compton Abbas was a truly special day in which a dear wish was fulfilled. All the way home in the minibus there was a buzz of chatter and reminiscing of the war days and the courage of the pilots.”

by Lorraine Gibson