THE funeral of former Battle of Britain pilot Squadron Leader George Pushman DFC is being held this morning (Friday, April 20) at Madresfield Church.

Canadian born Mr Pushman, who was 82, answered the call for pilots at the beginning of World War II, coming to Britain and learning to fly at a civilian flying school at Hamble, near Southampton, before joining the Royal Air Force.

His wife, Muriel, said he had loved the idea of flying since he was a boy and watched an aerobatic display by Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly the Atlantic, and his team.

He would cycle ten miles to an aerodrome outside Ottawa to wash the planes in the hope - sometimes realised - of a flight.

During the Battle of Britain Mr Pushman flew Blenheim nightfighters with 23 Squadron, based at Ford near Tangmere, trying to pick off German raiders, later using the emerging technology of radar.

After transferring to 88 Squadron, he flew Boston medium fighter bombers on low level missions, a talent which served him well in the hours before D-Day in 1944.

While British ships, including the Warspite, traded shells with German positions at Le Havre, Sqn Ldr Pushman was among the pilots asked to get in the middle of the exchange and lay a smokescreen to protect the ships, going on to strafe the landing beaches of Sword and Juno before the landing craft went in.

Three days before D-Day, Mr and Mrs Pushman had their first child, a daughter, Maggie, the first of four children, being followed by Tim in 1947, who died at the age of 12 in a railway accident, Nigel in 1949 and Ross, 17 years after Margaret.

After the war Mr Pushman left the RAF and began a highly successful business career, holding the most senior positions in several national companies before his retirement at the age of 57. The family then ran a hotel - The George - at Castle Cary in Somerset and later The Manor at Lower Slaughter.

They went on to move to Danemoor Farm at Welland where Mrs Pushman began to write the first in a series of books and Mr Pushman engaged in his great love of cooking, before they 'swapped' with Ross and moved to Madresfield.

In the 1980s he was a founder member of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire branch of the English Speaking Union and served as its treasurer and chairman, accepting the role of vice president on his retirement.

Among his lasting contributions was the establishment of an annual young musicians competition for the George Pushman Music Prize.

He was also one of the pilots who helped local aviation historian Dilip Sarkar with his researches and was a member of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association, which will be represented at the funeral.

The funeral is at Madresfield at 11am with a gathering afterwards at Danemoor. Donations in lieu of flowers are invited for the RAF Benevolent Fund and Marie Curie Cancer Care, which supported Mr Pushman during his illness.