RETIRED
journalist and war hero Ray Holmes, whose Hurricane was dubbed by
newspapers “the plane that saved the King”, was never decorated for his
bravery. Although the then Queen requested a meeting with the brave
young pilot after he foiled a German attack on Buckingham Palace,
Holmes’ one regret is that he never got to keep the appointment.

But
last month Holmes, who spent most of his working life working for his
father’s news agency covering Liverpool Crown Court, became only the
third person in the Wirral to be granted the freedom of the borough.
The award is a belated recognition of his bravery when the capital was
under sustained aerial attack in the Battle of Britain, as well as his
contribution to the area where he has lived most of his life.

Surrounded
more by family photographs than RAF memorabilia, when Holmes describes
events of 15 September 1940 it sounds no more dramatic than a trip to
the supermarket.