RAF veteran reunites with aircraft after 80 years

Norman Brown has lived in Cambridge since 1970, but was originally from Newcastle

A 101-year-old veteran has been reunited with a type of plane he maintained during World War Two.

Norman Brown joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a mechanic at 18 and was sent to South Africa, where he looked after the Avro Anson, a plane used for crew training.

Of the almost 11,000 Avro Ansons that were built, only one remains flight-worthy and is privately owned in the Czech Republic.

The aircraft was flown to IWM Duxford's Battle of Britain Air Show in Cambridgeshire on Sunday to be reunited with Mr Brown, who last saw it in 1945.

When asked if he imagined seeing the plane again, he replied: "No, and I didn't imagine I would get this old.

"Eighty years ago, and all the pleasure to see it again."

Norman Brown joined the RAF at 18 and stayed there for five years

Mr Brown has lived in Cambridge since 1970, but is originally from Newcastle upon Tyne.

His job during his five years with the RAF was to "check everything" before the planes went up, keeping a keen eye out for any leaks, loose nuts or cracks in the frames.

He said he remembered seeing them fly around Table Mountain in Cape Town during training and "enjoyed" his time in South Africa.

Neil Brown said his dad was one of the first air cadets in the UK at about 14 years old and went straight into the RAF at 18, during the conflict.

Richard Santus pilots the world's only airworthy Avro Anson Mk.I - originally developed in the 1930s

Anson pilot Richard Santus said coming to Duxford was always a "special occasion," and meeting veterans like Mr Brown was an especially "great moment".

"It's an honour [to fly the plane]," he said.

"It's the only one flying in the world so we have to take special care of it and make sure we don't do any harm to it."

The air show at Duxford marked the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a series of game-changing battles in World War Two, fought entirely in the air.

It also paid tribute to the late John Allman "Paddy" Hemingway - the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot who died in March, aged 105.

Thousands of people attended the Battle of Britain Air Show on Saturday and Sunday