A heartfelt farewell to veteran of the crate escapes

Mr Bagshaw, Britain’s oldest Royal Air Force former officer, who has died at the age of 105, was known for his modesty.

During his RAF career, Mr Bagshaw, who rose to become warrant officer and flight lieutenant, would accept the offer of flying with pilots on tests and crashed three times but said he was hurt only once, when a pilot left engine switches live.

“I turned the propeller to do my checks and the blooming thing started.

“I broke my arm and had it in plaster for two months,” Mr Bagshaw recalled.

His funeral will take place in Leeds later this week and his only surviving relative, daughter Marjorie, has told of his 39 years of service.

She said that during the Second World War it was his father’s job to repair aircraft damaged in action and get them back into the air as soon as possible.

She said: “He liked the job but the war was horrible. Often they had the job of pulling out pilots who were burned to death.

“Like most service people he would not talk about the war, so you didn’t get to know about these things.”

Mr Bagshaw was born shortly after the Wright Brothers pioneered powered flight, and years later – after the First World War had given birth to the RAF – he signed up and joined the service in 1925.

He was born in Pontefract and joined as a career serviceman at the tender age of nineteen.

He originally joined as a carpenter/rigger.

Speaking as he turned 100, Mr Bagshaw, who lived in Horsforth, Leeds, said: “It was all very new and exciting.

“I had to go to Manchester to sign up and they bundled up my clothes in a parcel which they sent to my mother.”

Mr Bagshaw’s early experience was acquired on Tutors, an early training craft.

“They were all canvas and wood in those days and because I’d learned joinery as a lad I was given the job of carpenter/rigger.

“Early planes seemed to be made out of tea chest wood but by the time I joined they were pretty sturdy and the joints were good.

“To add support they had wire stays which were tightened up with turnbuckles,” he said.

He later worked on the RAF’s first all-metal aircraft, the Siskin.

During the last war Mr Bagshaw served in Palestine, Egypt, India, Malta and South Africa.

He said: “Every time they wanted someone for a job abroad they sent me. I reckon it’s because my name begins with a B.”

He was awarded several service medals during his career and at some stage he was awarded the OBE, although neither his family nor the RAF have been able to trace the circumstances.

As well as serving in the Second World War he also took part in the Korean conflict in the 1950s.

Mr Bagshaw was also a keen sportsman during his time in the RAF, enjoying cross-country running and fencing and was a top shot.

On his 105th birthday he was joined by Squadron Leader Andy Scott from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, a former commanding officer of 207 Squadron in which Mr Bagshaw served, and Flight Lieutenant Martin Blagojevic, who commands the Armed Forces’ careers office in Leeds.

Flt Lt Blagojevic, speaking at the time said: “Frank was somewhat taken aback when informed that he may be the oldest surviving former RAF Officer.

“He said the secret to his longevity was that he was always fit, healthy and did not drink or smoke.”

Mr Bagshaw was presented with a framed and signed print from the personnel at RAF Linton-on-Ouse who served on 207 Squadron.

It was engraved with the words “105 years of Flight Lieutenant Frank Bagshaw.”

Flt Lt Blagojevic added: “Despite his modesty, we were left in no doubt as to the pride he had in wearing the uniform, the standards we all have to aspire to and the legacy that he and others who followed in his footsteps leave behind.”

Mr Bagshaw’s wife, Mabel, died in 1990 aged 82.

His funeral is at 1pm on Friday at Grove Methodist Church, Horsforth.

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