Lancaster rear gunner visits the BBMF

Members of the RAF Memorial Flight Official Club will know of wartime veteran Lancaster rear gunner, Flight Sergeant James Flowers, who wrote the ‘Veteran’s Viewpoint’ for the Club 2016 Yearbook. James served with 50 Squadron at the end of the war in Europe and had some hair-raising experiences, some of which he told in his ‘Viewpoint’.

On 25th May, James, who is now 92, and his family – 20 of them, including some of his sons, his 10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren – visited the BBMF at RAF Coningsby so that they could see the Lancaster and find out more about what Dad/Grandad/Great-Grandad did in the war.

 

The great-grandsons and other younger members of the family got to sit in the Lancaster rear turret to experience what it was like. Nineteen-year-old grandson Tim, is the same age that James was when he began flying in the war, and couldn’t quite believe what his grandfather had done as he squeezed into the rear turret.

James’ comment as he was leaving was touching: “You made us feel very special”, he said, “I wanted the family to see the Lancaster and to see what I did.”