RAF Coningsby: Veteran, 99, has wartime debt repaid by RAF

Mrs Terry was presented with five special shilling coins 77 years after she was first owed money by the RAF

A 99-year-old RAF veteran had her World War Two debt repaid when she was presented with five shilling coins.

Peggy Terry served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

When Mrs Terry was discharged in 1945 she was still owed the money.

The shillings, dated 1941 to 1945, to reflect the years she served, were repaid by the RAF during a special ceremony at Mrs Terry's home in south Wales.

Mrs Terry was a Leading Aircraftwoman during an 18-month stint at RAF Coningsby towards the end of the war.

She was a sparking plug cleaner on Lancaster bombers.

"The engineers used to bring the plugs into us, and we had to strip them down and clean them in petrol, which wasn't very nice, and then reassemble them," she recalled.

It was only by chance during the Covid-19 pandemic that the debt owed to Mrs Terry was discovered.

William Anderson discovered the debt when he was deployed to Mrs Terry's house in Wales during the Covid pandemic

Aircraft Specialist First Class William Anderson, who is based at RAF Coningsby, was sent to Wales as part of an operation assisting the NHS.

He was driving an ambulance while crewed with a paramedic and Mrs Terry recognised his beret when they attended her home.

'Lovely gesture'

During their conversation he discovered Mrs Terry had also been based at RAF Coningsby during the war.

He also saw a joking reference in her discharge papers to her still being owed five shillings for her service.

As a gesture of appreciation, RAF Coningsby asked Mr Anderson to present her with the shillings.

Mr Anderson said it had been 'lovely to meet Peggy and to hear of her experiences at Coningsby during the war'

Mr Anderson said he had been delighted to meet Mrs Terry again and to have presented her with the coins.

Mrs Terry was also presented with her rank badge and a framed print of the current aircraft at RAF Coningsby and those based there during the war.

Holding the coins, she said: "I haven't got a clue what I could have spent them on. They're heavy."

Her daughter, Cathy Jones, said the presentation was a "lovely gesture" by the RAF.

"It is nice to know that the RAF still cares for its veterans," she added.