Harry Winter, 102, who flew in the 427th Squadron, met the Duchess of Gloucester.
A Second World War veteran who served in the RAF recalled his gruelling time as a prisoner of war after being shot down over Germany as he joined comrades at a Buckingham Palace garden party.
Harry Winter, 102, flew in the 427th Squadron, also known as the Lion squadron, which was involved in bombing campaigns against Germany between 1942 and 1945.
Speaking at the garden party for beneficiaries of The Not Forgotten Association on Friday, Mr Winter remembered seeing his plane’s rear gunner with his head “blown off” after their aircraft was hit on an operation in 1943.
“I did operations in France, Germany and Italy. One trip, we were greeted over Holland by flak and had to shake off a night fighter on our tail,” Mr Winter, who turns 103 next week, told the PA news agency.
“When we reached the target, we were the second wave and as we dropped our bombs, the pilot said we had been hit.
“We couldn’t get any answer from our gunners so I went to see what was wrong. When I saw the rear gunner, half his head was blown off.
“I just remember the pilot saying ‘bail out, bail out’.”
At the garden party, Mr Winter met the Duchess of Gloucester, who has attended several previous events with The Not Forgotten Association.
The association is a tri-service charity, providing entertainment and leisure for ex-service and still serving personnel who are sick, injured or wounded.
After his Halifax was shot down in 1943, with four crew members killed, Mr Winter was made a prisoner of war in Bankau, a part of modern day Poland, but then German-controlled territory.
“After we landed, we were captured and were made prisoners of war. We were taken to a prison camp and put in huts about 10ft long and 8ft high, with six of us in each.”
Mr Winter went on to describe being forced on a gruelling march through Czechoslovakia towards just south of Berlin because of USSR advances against Nazi Germany in 1945.
But eventually, appearing caught up by difficult memories, he turned to a brighter note, shifting the topic to the “wonderful” experience of being reunited with fellow veterans during VE Day celebrations earlier this month.
The Duchess of Gloucester met Mr Winter, alongside other veterans, and told the 102-year-old: “It is so special to see you all together”.
Around 2,000 personnel of all ages and all military services were united at the Buckingham Palace garden party.
