Lancaster Bomber hero celebrates 99th birthday

Dick Raymond says he is very lucky

A World War Two veteran from North Devon who survived 17 missions in a Lancaster Bomber before being shot down has just celebrated his 99th birthday.

Dick Raymond, from Brayford, was a flight engineer with the Pathfinder squadron on missions over Germany.

He spent a year in a prisoner of war camp after being captured by the Germans.

Dick was then forced to march to Berlin in freezing weather before escaping and making his way back home.

Dick flew 17 missions over Germany

The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War Two.

They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing.

Dick (last on right) flew with the Pathfinder squadron

Dick still has vivid memories of the night his plane was shot down.

"Bang - the plane was in a ball of flames immediately," he said.

"And as I bailed out, I felt the blast as the plane exploded.

"I pulled the rip cord at 23,000ft (7,000m) and it took 10 minutes to get down."

Dick's bid for freedom came when he was moved to Berlin after a three-week march in winter.

"One night I said, come on, let's get out of here - and we went," he said.

"I was lucky from the word go."

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