Tri-Service

Terminally Ill Veteran Granted Dying Wish

A terminally ill former Spitfire engineer has been granted his dying wish - to see the legendary fighter plane one last time.

Ken Farlow, 95, asked his daughter Helen, 52, if he 'could see a Spitfire - one last time' after being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.

She took him to Gloucestershire Airport, where the vintage aircraft were being maintained by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight crew.

And after Helen posted a poignant photo of the RAF veteran gazing through a fence at the aircraft from his wheelchair on social media, the airport director of operations sat up and took notice.

So much so, that the father-of-three was invited in for a no-expense-spared VIP visit to see the planes up close.

Ken with flight crew and his beloved Spitfire

Helen, from Gloucester, said: "Dad was really poorly a few weeks ago. He was bedridden and we thought we were going to lose him.

"I was having a normal conversation with him and I asked in a roundabout way what would he like to see.

"He mentioned a few things and then said he would love to see the Spitfire again. He knows time is precious, especially now."

"We now have some wonderful photos and video – lots of memories to go in that memory box.

"And it all started from a photo of dad sitting in front of the fence at Gloucestershire Airport.

"I couldn’t take the smile away from dad. He had a wonderful time chatting to the ground crew who were all so lovely."

Ken got the chance to test modern-day ground crew’s knowledge of his old plane

Former electrical engineer Ken helped to maintain Spitfires and Hurricanes in the Middle East during the Second World War.

The planes were the only barrier stopping Adolf Hitler's Germany from invading Britain in the early years of the war.

Ken joined in 1939 when war broke out, at the age of 19, before serving as an engineer in Syria and Palestine with the RAF's 38 Squadron.

He later served with the Royal Australian Airforce's No. 450 Squadron in North Africa and Syria before going back to England with 91 Squadron. Helen added:

"I have not heard him talk that much in so long. He has loved every minute of it."

"I was watching his eyes and he was getting tearful and joyful at the same time. It brought life back into him.

Helen said she had hadn't seen her father so chatty in a long time

"Many days recently he has not been well enough to go out so I think we have been very lucky recently to catch him on a few good days.

"His grandchildren, Charlotte and Samuel, are going to have some wonderful memories of their granddad enjoying the one thing he talks about near enough all the time - his time spent in WW2 on the aircraft."

Mr Farlow had a tour of the hangar and a pint in the bar and talked to the pilots, who proudly posed alongside him for photographs.