Wartime heroes at RAF Cosford to make sure memories will live on
They were fearless pilots who, as teenagers and men in their early 20s, helped protect Britain by flying against the Luftwaffe in the skies during the Second World War.
Now these five men are in their 90s – and they are passing on their experiences from the Battle of Britain to younger generations to ensure their memories live on.
The quintet is made up of Tim Wellings, Martyn Hansford, Des Main, Colin Fisher and Ken Wilkinson, who all live in the Midlands.
They are being filmed recounting tales of their service to be used alongside a new book, which tells the story of the conflict for a young audience.
All five former servicemen are part of the Birmingham Air Crew Association (ACA) and have come together to help children's author Graham Jones give an accurate account of what life in the Royal Airforce was like.
Mr Jones has written a series of books about Time Travelling Toby, who visits great events in history. The first in the series focusses on the Battle of Britain, and Mr Jones has been taking the book into local schools to help teach them about the Second World War.
He hopes that featuring the words of the ex-servicemen in a video, which will accompany his lessons will help children get a better understanding of the war.
Mr Wellings, 91, is the chairman of the ACA and a former member of bomber command and the RAF's Costal Command.
He said: "It is important for young people to learn about the tremendous sacrifices that were made."
It's more than 70 years since Ken Wilkinson first stepped into his Spitfire Mk 1. He was 21 and had just volunteered to become one of Churchill's "few". Now, at the age of 95, he has been reunited with an aircraft identical to the one he flew during the war.
Mr Wilkinson recreated a pose from a photo taken more than 70 years ago with a Spitfire MK 1 at the RAF Cosford Museum, where he is passing on his war tales to future generations.
The MK 1 was the model he flew during his service in 19 Squadron during the Battle of Britain.
He joined the air force just after he turned 17 in 1936 and became a volunteer reserve in Cheltenham. He said: "When I was 17, my father, Peter, had been in the Royal Flying Corps and asked me if I wanted to fly. Of course there was only one answer. He worked at Gloucester Air Craft and arranged for me to go up in an aircraft being test flown.
"I was a volunteer reserve at Cheltenham where we were flying Tiger Moths and Hawkers. When the war began I started to work partly on all the Rolls Royce engines, putting them back together because we had to be taught about the engines as well as the planes. So I didn't get away until the end of November 1939, a lot of other people had been called up a lot earlier."
He was then called to the Initial Training Wing to get him ready for his service in the RAF. By September 1940, he began his training in the Spitfires.
He said: "We were a bit short of aircraft so we didn't get a lot of time in them. However, there was a time when we were flying and the Germans came in through the Welsh Mountains to bomb Liverpool so we were sent to find them."
He then went into 616 Squadron at RAF Kirton in Lindsey, as station defence, flying over Humberside, before moving to 19 Squadron where he was stationed in Fowlmere and, later, RAF Duxford, flying Spitfires, keeping German fighters at bay and protecting RAF Hurricane bombers.
He was awarded several medals for his service, including the 39-45 star with a Battle of Britain Clasp, the Air Crew Europe Star and the Defence Medal.
The great grandfather-of-four, who lives in Solihull, said it was important to pass on stories of the war.
Mr Wilkinson, who is also a former trustee of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, said: "There's a need to understand warfare. All the terrorists and fighting against the government, they need to know it does no good, it brings them no further, all that happens is death and destruction."
"People should know just how evil war can be. It is all well and good talking about the glory, but a lot of people get killed, and not just fighting people."
Mr Wilkinson is one of five veterans from the Birmingham Air Crew Association (ACA) asked by children's author Graham Jones to help him educate young people on the history of the Battle of Britain.
Mr Jones' book, Time Travelling Toby, tells the story of a boy who visits historical events. The book is now being taken to schools across the country to teach children more about the Second World War.
Mr Jones has been filming the veterans at RAF Cosford Museum as they recount the tales of their service. The video interviews will be used alongside the book in schools to help children understand the reality behind the story.
Also taking part in the filming is 91-year-old Tim Wellings. He is the chairman of the ACA and a former member of Bomber Command and the RAF's Costal Command.
He saw a Catalina aircraft in the hangar at Cosford, a plane he had flown.
Mr Wellings, a grandfather of six from Lichfield, said: "We were mainly in charge of keeping the sea lanes open, through the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic. We flew out of Northern Ireland. We lost 80,000 airmen during the war which is an amazing figure."
Martyn Hansford, 91, from Stafford, was in training command throughout the war and worked as a flying instructor.
Mr Hansford said: "I know I avoid talking about the war with people unless they ask, as, when I was a teenager, I never used to like listening to people's stories about them."
