Manston: RAF veterans return to cockpit of planes they once flew

A care home honoured the wishes of two retired RAF pilots who wanted to return to the cockpit of planes they once flew.

John Orminston, 77, and Alan Sansom, 89, were surprised with a visit to the RAF Manston History Museum, Kent, after carers found out about their past.

Both men joined the RAF as teenagers and flew regularly in the 1980s.

They had a guided tour of the planes, where neither "had any struggle knowing what every single button and dial did".

Mr Sansom said the museum visit "brought back so many memories from my time in the sky".

Mr Orminston said he "had a great time back in my flying days and loved revisiting the planes at the museum".

Mr Orminston joined the RAF aged 16 after finishing school at Simon Langton Boys School in Canterbury.

He started his career as an electronics engineer, which saw him work on damaged machinery in Germany and cross the Berlin Wall.

He later became a flying officer and was stationed in the south of England.

Mr Sansom became a member of the RAF at 18.

He was later stationed in Odiham, Hampshire, where he remembers converting a hangar into a social space so he and his colleagues could play badminton and basketball to pass the time.

The two RAF veterans are residents at Care UK's Harrier Lodge in Whitstable.

Home manager, Sadie Porteous, said: "Everyone at the museum was astounded by the knowledge both of them had of the jets and just how comfortable they both felt being back on board.

"Both of them had a brilliant time, and it was great to see their faces light up the room when they saw the planes close up."

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