WW2 Spitfire pilot says reunion with iconic aircraft is like seeing an old friend
A Second World War Spitfire pilot has been reunited with the iconic aircraft as it marks its 90th anniversary.
Douglas Seale was at Leuchars to see the Spitfire TR9 as it toured the country to celebrate nine decades since it first took to the sky.
The 102-year-old, who flew the plane between 1943 and 1945, said it was like "seeing an old friend" as he recalled his excitement in joining the RAF to help in the war effort.
The plane has been painted in the scheme worn by the prototype in 1936 and has been flying around the country to celebrate its landmark year.
Mr Seale, who was at Leuchars Station in Fife to see it arrive in Scotland, said: "It's very nice to see it, just very nice to see it. It was like seeing an old friend."
Mr Seale joined the military as a teenager when the allies were already fighting the Axis powers in the Second World War.
He added: "I'm Australian and I joined the Air Force in Australia at 18 and went in – just initial training – and then became a pilot and I got my wings and I was posted to embarkation and taken on a boat.
"It was a very exciting, busy time – it was all go. There were lots of other people doing the same thing.
"My colleagues and I were all very young at the time – 19, 20, 21 years of age, you know.
"It was very exciting."
During his training in the legendary aircraft, Mr Seale was told he was a natural fit to be a pilot in an aircraft that would cement its reputation during the war.
"The first time I tried the Spitfire, first flight. I found it very exciting.
"Taken up by my instructor – there were just the two of us – he took us up and we flew for a little while and he said 'where do you think the aerodrome is?'," he recalled.
"And I said 'it's right here behind my left shoulder'.
"He said 'that’s very good - you’ll make a pilot' just like that.
"I was most surprised, he said people usually get confused when they get up on the first flight, and they move about a bit and lose track of where they are."
Despite the dangers of being a fighter pilot during the Second World War, Douglas said he felt more excited than nervous when taking to the skies against the formidable Luftwaffe.
He said: "There was a Messerschmitt over Drayton Airport, and I remember arriving there and chasing him for a while.
"I was mostly down south in England at East Kirkby, which is now a museum."
Like many who served in the war, Mr Seale went back to his civilian life after the conflict ended.
"I went back to my native Australia and thought I was going to have a nice quiet time," he said.
"I went back to what I had done before I went into the Air Force... I worked in the bank."
He added: "Yes, I certainly missed it when I went back to civilian life."
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