Oldest surviving Battle of Britain pilot William Walker dies aged 99

Oct 23 2012 By Cheryl Mullin

THE oldest surviving Battle of Britain pilot, who was shot down in his Spitfire and wounded in 1940, has died aged 99.

Flight Lieutenant William Walker, born in Hampstead, north London, suffered a stroke last Thursday and died in hospital on Sunday, the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust said.

Born on August 24 1913, Mr Walker joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve on September 2 1938 at Kidlington, Oxford, and flew his first solo there a few days later.

He was called up for full-time service on September 1 1939 and posted to Cambridge on November 15.

He went to Brize Norton on February 17 1940 and, at the end of the course, was commissioned and posted directly to 616 Squadron at Leconfield on June 18.

During the late morning of August 26 1940, a large German bomber force, with heavy fighter escort, was heading towards targets in England including the RAF fighter stations at Kenley and Biggin Hill. The force was engaged over Kent and the coast by Defiants, Hurricanes and Spitfires.

Battle of Britain veteran William Walker with the Duchess of Cornwall pictured in 2010

At Kenley, Spitfires from No 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron were scrambled to the Dover/Dungeness area and found themselves in a fight with Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Mr Walker’s plane was hit and badly damaged and he baled out, landing in the Channel with a bullet in his right ankle.

Mr Walker clung to a shipwreck on the Goodwin Sands before being rescued by a fishing boat, transferred to an RAF launch and brought ashore at Ramsgate, where he was greeted by a large crowd and presented with a packet of cigarettes by an elderly woman.

In later life, Mr Walker enjoyed recounting the story of how, as the surgeon prised the armour-piercing bullet from his ankle during his stay at the RAF Hospital in Halton, it shot out and hit the ceiling. He kept the bullet as a souvenir.

After recovering from his wound, Mr Walker’s postings included joining a squadron engaged in anti-aircraft co-operation duties and one with the Sector Gunnery Flight at Gatwick.