Book spotlights RAF ace Allan, 96

"The Last Heroes" by Gary Bridson-Daley is a selection of 42 interviews from over 100 he has conducted with veterans in recent years and includes Squadron Leader Allan Scott, of Wem.

"A great example of a man who belies his age, Allan has led an action-packed life, and still does," writes Gary.

"Flying is truly in his blood, from when he fought in aerial combat over Britain and Malta, becoming an ace in the process, through his days as a test pilot on more than 80 different types of aircraft, right to the present day, when he keeps his hand in with some local weekend flying from Sleap Aerodrome in Shropshire.

"He is another shining example of the generation that helped save Britain at that most critical time."

Allan, who is 96, served in the RAF for 35 years and is the last surviving Siege of Malta fighter pilot ace. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal.

In his interview Allan tells how he always felt that he flew instinctively.

"Something I learnt to do that really helped keep me alive and engage my targets effectively was to always attack on a turn, making it very hard for your target to take evasive action quickly and also very difficult for anyone behind you to engage you properly.

"Also never stay straight in an attack or you could very easily become the victim.

"I learned to apply these things very early on, from when I was at Biggin Hill and we first started to attack large formations of incoming Germany bombers and their escorting fighters in what was still at that time a real Battle for Britain and the skies above it.

"Then I carried that experience on to Malta where we really had some seriously hard-fought engagements with the Germans and Italians."

Allan became a test pilot and had some close shaves.

One hangar at Shawbury to this day has a plaque at “Scott’s Corner” after an incident in 1946 when, having taken off in a twin-engined Mosquito, he had an engine problem and only just cleared the hangar.

In recognition of his skill, Allan was awarded a Green Endorsement, the RAF accolade for safely landing in difficult circumstances, and Scott’s Corner was born.

A few years later he was not so fortunate and was seriously injured in a crash in a Tiger Moth in Scotland in 1953.

In 2015, at the age of 94, Allan was able to take to the skies again in his beloved Spitfire after a break of 65 years, taking control of a two-seater version being flown at his old airfield of Biggin Hill.

"I had a go at throwing her around a bit, and I plan to be around until I am 100 as I also have a flight booked for then," he says in the book.

The Last Heroes is published by The History Press and costs £20.