Grounded war hero pilot John, 96, can't wait to fly again
A 96-year-old Shropshire war hero - probably the oldest active pilot in Britain - is itching to get back in the air again after being grounded by a heart pacemaker operation.
John Trotman flew two tours of operations with Bomber Command during the war and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar.
A member of Shropshire Aero Club, he flies regularly at Sleap airfield, near Wem, and was expecting to have a flying gap of around only a month after a pacemaker was implanted in an operation at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital at the end of last year.
But the device subsequently had to be removed and now he is awaiting a second, private, operation to have a new pacemaker implanted.
"He wants to be able to fly again," said wife Olwen.
"The consultant at Telford said at the time that he mustn't drive or fly, but once it was in place to give it a month and he would be able to do both again. He was flying up to November, just before all this started. He can't fly solo for insurance reasons as he is over 90, and so has a second pilot, although he does all the flying."
John, who lives near Market Drayton, said: "I think I'm the second oldest - there's some guy down in the south, but he only flies very rarely. I try to go up once a month."
John's first wartime tour of operations had been in Wellington bombers with 150 Squadron based at RAF Snaith in Yorkshire, taking part in bombing raids on many heavily-defended German cities.
The odds were against surviving even one tour, but he went on to do a second tour, this time in Mosquitos of 692 Squadron, based at RAF Graveley near Cambridge, and part of the elite Pathfinder Force.
Flight Lieutenant Trotman was to clock up over 2,000 flying hours and walked away from three crashes.
He was awarded the DFC and Bar for his exploits – the Bar is a second award of the same medal.
His exploits were recounted in a 2011 autobiography, "J For Johnnie," which was a collaboration with Telford author Ken Ballantyne.
