The Last Veterans of RAF Spilsby
 
In July 2009 Harry Patch, the last fighting British Tommy of World War One passed away aged 111 years. In this last post of 2024 it would be appropriate to contemplate the probability the year has seen RAF Spilsby have its own Harry Patch moment.    
 
Initially, it was thought that time had come following the death of Spilsby ‘A’ Flight Mechanic Fred Pearce in January 2022; Fred who was known to ‘the Friends’ was duly lorded with the title ‘the last surviving Spilsby veteran of World War II’. However, in the summer of 2023, there was welcome news from New Zealand of Eddie Chapman, a 207 Squadron Bomb Aimer who was celebrating his 100th Birthday. Sadly, Eddie contracted COVID a few months later and as a result passed away in October of that year. Incredibly, Eddie only held the symbolic ‘last veteran’ title for a short while as a few weeks later former Spilsby WAAF, Mary Stuttard (née Gannon) was seen on local television when she was interviewed at Blackpool airport for a Remembrance Day broadcast.  Oldham born Mary, who had been an armourer’s assistant and tailoress at Spilsby passed away earlier this year aged 101 after a short illness. Although it is feasible Mary will be recorded in the annuals of time as the last WWII WAAF to serve at RAF Spilsby the baton for the ‘last veteran’ passed once again when author and columnist Bill Spence passed away on 28 May 2024 also aged 101.

Bill, who was a member of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, completed 36 operations as the bomb aimer in Flt Lt Mike Wood’s crew. After the war Bill pursued his ambition of writing. His first book, ‘Dark Hell’ published in 1958, was based upon his own operational experiences where he cleverly weaves real life Spilsby events into the story, and reflects on his own wartime thoughts. Bill’s own fictional character is Bob Minton, a Lancaster wireless operator, who spent much of his spare time writing. He had hit on an idea which he hoped might give him the big chance he had been waiting for.
 
RAF Spilsby was never far from Bill’s imagination when, in 1986, he wrote ‘Secret Squadron’ whose fictitious base was RAF Wainby, an amalgamation of his wartime aerodrome and the bombing range at nearby Wainfleet. He also characterised Spilsby Section Officer Joyce Brotherton perfectly as, Elizabeth Walsh, ‘the new officer in the Intelligence Section with a blonde page-boy hairstyle’.    
 
Inspired by his childhood love of Wild West films, Bill would in time have some 30 Westerns published, written under three different pseudonyms. Books on the history of whaling and whaling novels followed before he was asked to write as a female author in 1990. The Red Shawl, written under the pseudonym Jessica Blair became the first of 26 novels, all loosely based on the North Yorkshire coast. His last romantic saga was published when he was 95 years old.
 
If Bill Spence is to be chronicled as RAF Spilsby’s last wartime veteran, then he stands on top of the most wonderful pyramid of men and women, many as we remember, who were denied the opportunity to grow old.   
 
Ed. Sourced from Swindon’s Gazette and Herald and Friends of RAF Spilsby archive. Submitted by Kevin Mapley.