The RAF Association was sad to hear of the death of Flight Lieutenant Maurice Mounsdon, who was one of the last surviving Battle of Britain pilots.
Maurice joined 56 Squadron, based at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire, in June 1940. Just a few weeks later, the Hurricane he was flying was shot down over Essex.
Despite suffering severe burns, Maurice, aged 22 at the time, managed to parachute from the aircraft and was subsequently rushed to hospital by locals.
After a long recovery, Maurice returned to service and was posted to various locations. In the final months of the war, he served with the 8303 Air Disarmament Wing in Germany.
Originally from Staffordshire, Maurice died at the age of 101 on 6 December in Menorca, where he had lived since the 1970s. His wife, Mary, died in the early 1990s.
Nick Bunting, the Secretary General of the RAF Association said, “Maurice was one of the last of The Few who defended our skies from the Luftwaffe in 1940.
“After being shot down, he bravely battled back from injury to return to serving his country. Everything we’ve heard about him leads us to believe he was a truly great airman, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones.”
