Father and son honour Battle of Britain in photos

The average age of a WW2 pilot was 20, so Stephen used his 24-year-old son as a model

A father and son have paid tribute to the memory of Battle of Britain pilots by staging photographs which aim to recreate the 1940s.

To mark the 85th anniversary of the World War Two campaign, Stephen Huntley from Chelmsford photographed 24-year-old Scott in aircraft hangers around the country using authentic wartime props.

Scott wore a real World War Two uniform for the shoot, while his father used film from the 1940s and camera parts from the 1930s.

"Unfortunately, 95% of [the film] has been unusable. But I've been lucky, and I've got a few rolls, and I've still got a few rolls left," said Mr Huntley.

"They're normally found in house clearances. I bought 30 rolls of film found in a Boston cellar in the US."

Mr Huntley said the cameras in the 1940s would cost the equivalent of £2,000 in today's money.

Scott was also pictured in Royal Flying Corps uniform from 1917, while at Stow Maries Aerodrome near Maldon

Mr Huntley said he first got "the bug" when he bought a fighter pilot uniform in Honolulu, Hawaii, from a local person who had bought it from a museum on the island that closed down in 2012.

"Once I had that, I started collecting as much Battle of Britain kit as I could, but it's very expensive and it's very hard to get hold of," he said.

"The uniforms are very small because during the war, anybody that was flying was very, very slim. If you look compared to today, people from the same age, there's no comparison... but this uniform fitted perfectly and Scott's the right age.

"We're not re-enactors. Some re-enactors are quite old and their uniforms aren't 100% authentic.

"I even bought braces that were dated 1940... the flying helmet I've got is a Type B that's dated 1939... everything had to be as accurate as possible."

Battle of Britain Day is celebrated on 15 September marking the date during the longer three-month campaign when the Royal Air Force (RAF) survived the largest-scale attack from the Luftwaffe, and 60 German aircraft were shot down.

Mr Huntley said: "We were very close to not getting through that. So, if we'd lost that battle, the land invasion would have gone ahead and we could have been speaking another language now."

Scott Huntley (pictured left, with his dad Stephen) is a racing driver instructor based in Bedfordshire

Mr Huntley said it was poignant that this year's anniversary was the first since John "Paddy" Hemingway, the last Battle of Britain pilot, died age 105.

"We've lost the last link to the Battle of Britain, so I'd like to try and continue the memory," he said.

Stephen was in the air cadets and his late father served in the RAF. Scott is a racing driver instructor in Bedfordshire.