UK's oldest Second World War hero to be honoured by Spitfire flyover

An iconic aircraft is set to flyover a town on the Nottinghamshire border in honour of the UK's oldest Second World War veteran. Ex-Desert Rat Donald Rose is 109 and lives in Canal Vue care home on Awsworth Road in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

To honour the veteran, two spitfires will be flying over the town at around 1.45pm on May 6, as part of a larger wartime-themed celebration in the town. The spectacle is expected to draw huge crowds to a wartime-themed party for the modest old soldier, who turned 109 on Christmas Eve.

Donald is the world’s fourth-oldest surviving Second World War veteran. He was born in 1914 and served on the frontline with the 7th Armoured Division after joining the Queen’s Royal Regiment. He saw action in North Africa, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany – later training as a sniper.

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The dad of one, whose wife died in 2001, was repeatedly decorated, including being given France’s highest award – the Legion D'Honneur. But his son David Rose, 74 – a retired NHS hospital technician living in West Hallam, Derbyshire, – said: “He didn’t want the medals, he wanted no fuss and he just got on with it.” Donald has said when quizzed in the past about his longevity: “Everyone asks this – there’s no secret.”

In a salute to him, the Royal Air Force's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will send two Spitfires to dip their wings as they flyover Donald and the rest of the excited onlookers. Operating from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, the flight operates six Spitfires, two Hurricanes, a Lancaster, a C47 Dakota, and two Chipmunk aircraft.

These aircraft can be regularly seen in the skies over the UK from May to September each year. These aircraft are often flown to celebrate and commemorate public and military events.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) was inaugurated on 11 July 1957 at RAF Biggin Hill. It was initially called the RAF Historic Aircraft Flight and consisted of three PR Mk XIX Spitfires and the RAF’s last airworthy Hurricane, LF363. It was then renamed to be the Battle of Britain Flight before a final renaming in 1969 to what it is known as today, BBMF.