Trivia

He was the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters raids of World War II.

His death left two surviving Dambusters crew members - Canadian former front gunner Fred Sutherland and British former bomb aimer George 'Johnny' Johnson.

He put his medals up for auction to help pay for the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London. A day before the auction, they were purchased by British peer Lord Michael Ashcroft for £75,000 ($117,000). He donated them to the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland.

He was patron of the New Zealand Bomber Command. He was still flying at the age of 95, and co-piloted an Avro Anson plane seven months before his death.