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An islander and Second World War pilot who celebrates his 101st birthday tomorrow has taken to the skies once more to support a cause close to his heart.
St. Aubin resident Bernard Gardiner received an early surprise present on Saturday when he flew from Duxford aerodrome in the world’s only two-seat Hawker Hurricane.
Mr Gardiner was guest of honour at an event organised by the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group – a charity raising the funds to rebuild and fly one of the fighter-bombers which he flew during the war.
Mr Gardiner flew the single-engine aircraft over Northern Europe from October 1944, bombing railway lines supplying V1 and V2 launch sites.
After the war, he became the founding pilot of Jersey Airlines, moving to the island to begin a long commercial aviation career, which included flying Rapides, Heralds, Dakotas, Herons and Viscounts.
He stayed in the cockpit all the way to his retirement in 1982.
Pictured: Bernard Gardiner takes flight in a two-seat Hawker Hurricane at Duxford in Cambridgeshire. (Matt Gardiner)
Only three years ago, aged 98, he fulfilled a lifetime ambition to fly in a Spitfire, that much-cherished aircraft that had eluded him during his busy wartime service.
After his latest sortie at the weekend, Mr Gardiner said: “That was wonderful, like being back at home. You’ve made an old man very happy. But I really don’t feel like I deserve all this: I was just doing my job. The real heroes are the ones who didn’t come home … I urge everyone to support this project and donate.”
Mr Gardiner was at Duxford to launch a £6.5m campaign to restore a Hawker Typhoon to flying condition. If the group succeeds, it will be the only airworthy example of the aircraft in the world.
Pictured: Bernard Gardiner turns 101 tomorrow. (Matt Gardiner)
Project director Sam Worthington-Leese, whose own grandfather flew the aircraft during the war, said: “It is vitally important that we remember the Typhoon and its crews.
“They shortened the war and flew on incredibly dangerous low-level ground attack missions, pioneering tactics that are still in use today.
WATCH: Footage of Mr Gardiner's flight on Saturday (Credit: YouTube).
“We have to see this project through, to create the memorial that they so rightly deserve, and we will not rest until we have done that.”
If the money can be found to complete the restoration, the Typhoon will be flying in four to five years.
Anyone wishing to support the project, can do so here.
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