Today we were delighted to host 102-year-old Second World War Veteran Henry Townsley and his family to RAF Coningsby.
Henry was a flight engineer during his time in service and was involved in several Lancaster Bomber raids over Germany. He earned nine medals in his distinguished career, which included the Legion D’honneur – the highest French Order of Merit for his role in the D-Day Landings. Upon leaving the Royal Air Force, Henry went on to become a Configuration Engineer and spent over twenty-five years working for Rolls-Royce.
Henry last visited the Flight in July 2017 for our 60th anniversary, where he met the then Duke of Cambridge, William (now Prince of Wales), who took the time to listen to many veterans’ stories and had in fact shared a laugh with Henry who reminisced about being awarded another medal by Prince William’s own grandfather, George VI.
During his visit today, Henry was hosted by Diane Law-Crookes who works within the BBMF Business Support Team. They spent time around the flight, showing Henry the iconic Lancaster that he used to work on and chatting to visitors who were taking part in our hangar tours. Henry and his family also visited Station Headquarters to see Henry’s name featured on the Honours Board!
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