Queen's Coronation pilot, 93, longs to fly again

Terence Devey Smith is one of the last remaining pilots from the formation

A 93-year-old former pilot who was in the coronation flypast for Queen Elizabeth II has said he would love to do it all again for King Charles III.

Terence Devey Smith, from Melbourne, Derbyshire, is one of the last remaining pilots from the formation that flew over Buckingham Palace on 2 June 1953.

Sqn Ldr (Retired) Devey Smith flew Gloster Meteor 8s with the 56 Squadron.

He said: "I was honoured to have been a part of [it]".

He says it was an enormous privilege to fly in front of the Queen

"The main thing I remember is the excitement," he added.

"We had been practising in big formations for some time - a lot of preparation had gone into it."

However, the flypast was delayed for hours and it was not clear if it would go ahead at all.

"The weather was bad, poor - low cloud, raining, bad visibility," he said.

"You couldn't fly 300 aircraft in close formation over London. It would be criminal. But then, late in the afternoon, it started to clear.

"Eventually, the air marshal made the decision to go, so we went."

'Enormous privilege'

At 17:15 BST, he flew over Buckingham Palace at 345mph (555kph) while the Queen took the salute from the balcony.

Sqn Ldr Devey Smith, then 23, said he had had to concentrate on flying, so was unable to see the crowds or the Queen from his plane.

"If you let your eyes wander, you could start moving and you are trying to remain in close formation," he said.

"I sensed we were flying past Buckingham Palace and I was on the extreme left-hand side of the formation so I could look across the formation and see Buckingham Palace in the background.

"It was terrific. It's the first time I have flown in front of the Queen. It was an enormous privilege."

The delayed flypast passed over Buckingham Palace at 17:15

He went on to serve in 31 and 80 Squadrons and moved to RAF Cranwell, in Lincolnshire, in 1961.

He recently returned to the RAF base to see the rehearsals for the King's flypast.

"I'm very familiar with Cranwell and loved every minute of it," he said.

"I hankered to be in one of the planes - most certainly.

"It made me feel envious. I just hope the pilots enjoy it as much as I did because it will live with them - as it has with me - for years and years. It's something to remember."