Maurice Mounsdon: Battle Of Britain Hero Dies Aged 101
It leaves only three remaining members of 'The Few' pilots who defended the country in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War.
by Tom Sables
One of the last surviving members of 'The Few' - the pilots who defended the country in the Battle of Britain during World War Two, has died.
Former RAF Flight Lieutenant Maurice Mounsdon died on Friday aged 101, family members have said.
Flt Lt Mounsdon's passing leaves only three remaining members of The Few, the 3,000 airmen who fought off the Luftwaffe in the skies above southern England over three-and-a-half months in 1940.
He joined 56 Squadron at Digby on 3rd June 1940.
During the fight against the Nazis, it is understood that Flt Lt Mounsdon helped to destroy multiple German aircraft - before being shot down himself in his RAF Hurricane, over Colchester.
After being picked up by local villagers, he was then hospitalised for nine months before returning to duty on 4 June 1941.
He was eventually released from the RAF on 22nd February 1946, as a Flight Lieutenant.
"He was a great man and will be missed by his nephews and nieces," nephew Adrian Mounsdon told the Daily Mirror newspaper.
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, said he was "saddened" to hear of Flt Lt Mounsdon's death.
"His was a remarkable story, which will continue to inspire this and future generations of the Royal Air Force, his bravery and sacrifice should never be forgotten," said the RAF chief.
The Battle of Britain claimed the lives of 544 RAF pilots and aircrew.
The surviving members of The Few are Flight Lieutenant William Clark, 100, Wing Commander Paul Farnes, 101, and Flying Officer John Hemingway, 100.
Mr Mounsdon was honoured on his 100th birthday in September last year with a flyover by the Red Arrows off the coast of the Spanish island of Menorca, where he had lived since the late 1970s since retiring there with his wife Mary, who died in 1993.
RAF Flight Lieutenant Maurice Mounsdon Cover image: (Picture: The Battle of Britain London Monument).