Taxi Charity veterans visit RAF Coningsby to see the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
- taxicharity
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
On 22 October 2025, three World War II veterans, Don Turrell, Robbie Hall and Peter Greenwood, and one post-war veteran, Ken Orford, were delighted to visit the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) which operates from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
The visit brought back wonderful memories for all the veterans as they viewed the iconic aircraft of the BBMF - a Lancaster, a C47 Dakota and two Spitfires - which took to the air during their visit, sharing runway and airspace with the modern Typhoons stationed at Coningsby.
For WWII veteran Robbie Hall, who served in Bomber Command alongside her fiancé Frank, the visit was particularly poignant. Frank was killed during the war, and seeing the aircraft brought back powerful memories of those who never returned.
Post-war veteran Ken Orford, who worked as an aircraft maintenance engineer for over 20 years and “has forgotten more than most people will ever know about aircraft,” proudly wore his 1,000-mile tie which symbolises the speed of the Lightning F5 jet.
Dick Goodwin, Vice President of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, who coordinated the day with the RAF Coningsby team, said: “A huge thank you to everyone at RAF Coningsby for the incredible welcome. Seeing these magnificent aircraft up close was truly special and brought back so many memories for our veterans. They were absolutely delighted to have been invited, and the timing was perfect with the Lancaster soon to begin its full overhaul.”
Diane Law-Crookes, BBMF Administration Officer at RAF Coningsby, said: "The highlight of working at BBMF for me, are days where we host our veteran friends. The day was filled with laughter, stories, and a fair amount of cake! I am very thankful that the Taxi Charity was able to bring along the veterans. Without them, we would not have met these wonderful people."
About The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) was inaugurated on 11 July 1957 at RAF Biggin Hill. It was initially called the RAF Historic Aircraft Flight and consisted of three PR Mk XIX Spitfires and the RAF’s last airworthy Hurricane, LF363. It was then renamed to be the Battle of Britain Flight before a final renaming in 1969 to what it is known as today, BBMF.
Between 1959 and 1965 the flight had one Spitfire (PM631) and one Hurricane (LF363) on its strength. Now, as a ‘museum without walls’, it maintains eleven historic and irreplaceable aircraft: an Avro Lancaster, a C-47 Dakota, five Spitfires, two Hurricanes and two de Havilland Chipmunk training aircraft.
The mission of the BBMF is to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this country.
The BBMF is a regular RAF unit, manned by service personnel and funded by the Ministry of Defence.
