One of the last of Churchill's Few dies aged 98

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One of the last survivors of the Battle of Britain - one of the last of Churchill's Few - has died aged 98.

Wing Commander Roger Morewood, from Rockcliffe in Dumfries and Galloway, was a keen photographer who, during the war, took incredible aerial photos of his wing-mates and their planes, often whilst they were flying in formation. And now that Mr Morewood has passed away, his family have shared his incredible photos for the first time.

Mr Morewood clocked up an incredible 5,000 flying hours in 32 different aircraft.

He survived the war after experiencing a few 'skirmishes in the sky' that on one occasion saw him limp home, and he retired from the RAF in 1957.

In 2013, Mr Morewood was honoured with a special Battle of Britain fly-by from a Hurricane and a Spitfire at his home in Barlochan House in Palnackie.

His funeral will take place at Colvend Parish Church in Rockcliffe at 11am on Friday December 19.

The Battle of Britain was fought from 10th July to 31st October 1940 and was the last battle to have been fought in Britain. The RAF lost 544 aircrew, whilst the Luftwaffe lost 2,698. 1,547 RAF planes, and 1,887 Luftwaffe planes, were destroyed. 40,000 British civilians were killed.

During the Battle, Sir Winston Churchill said: ‘The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed throughout the world, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion.

‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’

This led to the RAF pilots who fought in the battle to be nicknamed the Few.


Last of the Few: One of the final surviving Battle of Britain pilots dies aged 98 - leaving incredible archive of aerial photographs


Wing Commander Roger Morewood served with the Royal Air Force for the duration of World War Two
The heroic Battle of Britain pilot from Rockcliffe, Dumfries and Galloway, died aged 98 years, his family has said
The keen photographer left behind an incredible collection of photos of his wing-mate and their planes

By Sam Matthew for MailOnline



More than 70 years after the Battle of Britain raged overhead, these incredible never-before-seen pictures have been released following the death of one of the final surviving airmen.

Many of the images were the work of Wing Commander Roger Morewood and were snapped as he clocked up an incredible 5,000 flying hours in 32 different aircraft.

During the Battle of Britain the experienced pilot, who joined the RAF at just 19, flew Bristol Blenheims, which were outmatched in speed by the German Luftwaffe, and undertook many dangerous long-range missions over Holland and the French coast.

He survived the war after experiencing a few 'skirmishes in the sky' that on one occasion saw him limp home, and he retired from the RAF in 1957.

The photos of his wing-mates and their planes, often taken while flying in formation during combat missions, have been shared for the first time by his family after he passed away aged 98 years, one of the last of Churchill's Few.


Wing Commander Roger Morewood, pictured left as a young pilot, was one of the surviving Battle of Britain airman. He has died aged 98 years leaving behind an incredible collection of photos. Pictured right as a veteran.

Mr Morewood was an enthusiastic photographer who had attended the Edinburgh College of Art before joining the forces on the advice of his uncle, aged 19, in 1935.

His daughter Rowena Buck, 62, said: 'He was the archetypal RAF pilot. Blue eyes, blond hair which was too long, a handlebar moustache and his collar always up.

Wing Commander Morewood is behind the controls of the third single-seater Hurricane from the right as the aircraft flew in formation in 1939. The airman believed the Hurricanes were superior to the more famous Spitfire.

Heroic pilot Wing Commander Morewood snapped in his new Hawker Hurricane shortly after the start of World War Two. Before the Hurricane the airman had mainly flown Gloster Gladiator, the RAF's last biplane fighter.

The brave airman is pictured here attacking an Axis Flak ship as he flew his Blenheim during a daring combat mission. His family said that he experienced a few 'skirmishes in the sky,' during the war.

This image of a Hawker Hart, a two-seater biplane, was captured by the keen photographer in 1937 as he served with the Royal Air Force

The Wing Commander was at the controls of his own aircraft when he took this image of a colleague in the Hawker Hind, light bomber, as they flew over countryside in 1937

This Hawker Sea Fury was captured by Wing Commander Morewood in 1937. The Hawker Fury was the last propeller-driven fighter

When it was over, 544 RAF pilots and aircrew were dead and had made the ultimate sacrifice to keep generations of Britons safe.

'He felt that he did a lot of bread and butter work that was less colourful to describe, but he put so much time into flying he clocked up more than 5,000 hours in the air.

'He took a lot of photographs during the war, most of which we have in an album and will be going through with the family next week.'

Mr Morewood's training saw him first take to the sky in a Tiger Moth biplane before his posting to the elite 56 Squadron in 1937 which, at the time, flew open-cockpit Gauntlet fighters.

He then moved on to flying the Gloster Gladiator, the RAF's last biplane fighter.

By the outbreak of war he was already an experienced pilot and later acquired the new Hurricane fighter, which he believed were superior to the more famous Spitfire.

The pilot transferred to the newly reformed 248 Squadron as flight commander, and for three years flew Bristol Blenheims in the Battle of Britain, described as 'bombers dressed up as fighters'.


The Battle of Britain raging over St Paul's Cathedral in London

His daring endeavours saw him undertake dangerous long-range fighter sweeps over Holland and the French coast, before he was promoted to wing commander in 1944.

The promotion saw him assigned to Castel Benito near Tripoli in Libya, a posting which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Mr Morewood was sent on to Naples as station commander in 1945 where he saw out the war's end before he left the RAF in 1947.

But he returned to service in 1951 and finally retired in 1957.

Following his retirement, the airman and his wife, Rosemary, started a successful boarding kennel in Aberdeen.

In 1981 they moved to Rockcliffe, Dumfries, where they pursued their interests until Rosemary sadly died in 2003.

Mrs Buck said: 'He did come across skirmishes in the sky and on one occasion he did limp home and his Blenheim was described as looking like a cheese grater from the amount of bullets in it.

'Roger came down unscathed however, and the ground crew patched the plane up again and it was returned to service for a while until it was later lost.'

Mrs Buck described her father's experience of flying the Bristol Blenheims, which were outmatched in speed and armour against the Luftwaffe's more modern fighters.

She said: 'They were bombers which were dressed up as fighters as they had put on some extra guns, but they weren't fast so you could not give good chase to enemy planes.

'And if they chased after you, you couldn't outrun them, so they nicknamed it the Flying Coffin.

'A lot of men flew less hours and never made it through the war, so it's miraculous he survived.'

In 2013, Mr Morewood was honoured with a special Battle of Britain fly-by from a Hurricane and a Spitfire at his home in Barlochan House in Palnackie.

His funeral will take place at Colvend Parish Church in Rockcliffe at 11am on Friday December 19.



This was the Gloster Gladiator aircraft flown by the Wing Commander Morewood during 1937. The Gladiator was the RAF's last biplane fighter


During his time with the RAF the Wing Commander Morewood sat at the controls of 32 different aircraft. This is an Audrax that he snapped in 1937


The Royal Air Force Gladiators lined up and ready to take to the skies in 1937. A total of 544 RAF pilots and aircrew died during the Battle of Britain


The keen photographer was part of the elite 56 Squadron in 1937 when he took this image of a Meyford 2, while it was on the ground at an airfield


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Britain needed to win the Battle of Britain to avoid invasion by Germany - and it did


They fought the most important battle this country ever faced and their victory saved Britain from the tyranny of Nazi Germany.

The heroes of the Battle of Britain repelled Hitler’s Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940 to prevent a German invasion, although only a few of them are still alive.

At the time were in their late teens or early 20s when they took to the skies in Spitfires and Hurricanes from July to October 1940. Others flew in Blenheims, Beaufighters and Defiants, becoming the ‘aces’ of the Battle, shooting down plane after plane.

During the Battle, Sir Winston Churchill said: ‘The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed throughout the world, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion.

‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’





 
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