Funeral held for 'last' WW2 RAF bomber pilot

Wing Commander Jack Harris with wife Angela Tompson

The funeral for the man believed to have been the last surviving World War Two Bomber Command pilot has been held in Kent.

Wing Commander Jack Harris, who carried out 37 raids with 550 Squadron including flights over Dresden, died aged 104 on 9 January.

Jack previously said he had found himself in many hairy situations during the raids, one which ended with 70 holes in the left wing of his plane, but he thankfully always made it home safely.

His funeral in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday was attended by family and friends, along with an RAF bugler who played the Last Post.

Jack Harris while serving as a young man in the RAF

Speaking after the funeral, Jack's daughter Sue Etherington told the BBC: "He said he had a guardian angel, which was possible, but also he said he had a very good navigator."

Following the war, Jack moved to Tunbridge Wells with his wife Elsie, and daughters Sue and Anna.

After Elsie's death in 1981, Jack married wife Bobbie Marsh. He went on to marry third wife Angela Tompson in 2018, at the age of 98.

Mrs Tompson told the BBC: "He felt as though he was very lucky to be one of the survivors, because one of the sad things was you'd go back to your dormitory and half the beds were empty, but he'd have to go off to another flight.

"He said he wasn't frightened. He enjoyed the challenge. It was something he had to do, there was no choice about it. He was just a young man."