ONE of the last remaining Spitfire pilots of the Second World War,  Peter “Jock” Taylor, who lived in Hanbury Park, Worcester, has died at the age of 99, turning another page in one of the most heroic chapters of the RAF.

Although joining after the Battle of Britain, from 1942 onwards Flight Lieutenant Taylor did it all – bomber escorts, ground attacks, D Day and Nomandy, to mention just a few of his combat actions.

His son John said: “Dad rarely spoke about the war. If you asked him, he would usually reply ‘I just did what I had to do’ and leave it at that.“

Worcester war historian Dilip Sarkar, who has written many books about the Spitfire and the men who flew them, added: “Peter was very shy and incredibly modest. He never sought the limelight, but preferred to talk about his colleagues’ heroics. It was almost impossible to connect this softly spoken and kind man with the wartime fighter pilot he once was.”

Peter Taylor had been born in Glasgow in 1923 and after leaving high school at 16  worked in the offices of a Fife shipyard before volunteering to join the RAF on his 18th

birthday.

He was sent to America for training and returned home on the Queen Mary, then being used as a troopship.

He arrived at 65 Squadron in 1942 when the air war over north-west Europe was intense with  Spitfires undertaking all manner of operations, including escorting the huge formations of American bombers, which must have been quite a sight.

During the lead-in to D-Day and throughout the subsequent Normandy campaign, the Allied fighter squadrons of the 2nd Tactical Air Force led a nomadic existence, living

under canvas and operating from temporary airstrips, first on the South coast, then in France, supporting and keeping up with the advancing Allied armies.

Dilip Sarkar explained: “This close air support was dangerous work indeed, as Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs, both of which Peter flew, strafed and dive-bombed the enemy, with anti-aircraft fire often heavy and an ever-constant hazard. Flying shuttles, the Allied fighter-bombers returned repeatedly, attacking at low-level. This entire period was relentless and Peter flew throughout, during which time he damaged a Focke-Wulf 190 and, as his log book records, participated in innumerable operations.

“Peter, like his friends Pete Wass and Tony Minchin in 122 Wing, represented the backbone of Fighter Command, the anonymous pilots who courageously did their duty with little or more often no recognition. They did not see themselves as heroes, just that they were trained to do a job and got on with it, regardless of the obvious risks and dangers involved.

“Peter would never, or at least very rarely, speak of his own experiences, but freely described the heroics of his comrades,. He was though quietly proud of the part he had played, but was never one to draw attention to himself or step into the limelight, which, perhaps, made him all the more endearing.

“Peter and I met in 1988, when, having recently retired to Worcester, he walked by Tudor House Museum and saw our exhibition, ‘Spitfire!’, which included reference to 65 and 19 Squadrons, both of which Peter served with, and photographs of certain of his old friends. Indeed, I was able to reconnect him with several.

“As our activities gathered  momentum we developed quite a community of survivors, and their wives and families, holding many events, including book launches and symposiums. Peter was always there and became, in many ways, a cornerstone.

“Many times I appreciated his measured advice on various matters and I miss our spontaneous meetings and chats at the local supermarket and petrol station, times when he would often talk surprisingly openly about the past.

"Peter was, in fact, the last surviving Spitfire pilot of the countless I knew, so his passing is actually a landmark moment and the end of an era.”

After the war Peter Taylor had a career in sales, mainly in Scotland,  and first came to Worcester in 1966 when appointed Midlands area manager of Farley’s, the rusk company. The family home was in Comer Road until 1977 when he moved to Farley’s headquarters in Plymouth.

On retirement, Peter moved back to Worcester in 1988 and lived with his wife Joyce in Hanbury Park, St John’s. The couple were married for 74 years until Joyce died 12 months ago.

Peter Taylor’s funeral will be at Worcester Crematorium on Friday, October 14 at 12.15pm.