FLYING IN THE LANCASTER BOMBER IN THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY FLYPAST

FLYING IN THE LANCASTER BOMBER IN THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY FLYPAST.

I had the most amazing privilege at the weekend. Last year I made a £2 million contribution towards the cost of the Bomber Command Memorial in London - a memorial that, quite frankly, probably would not have happened had organisers of the project not approached me for support. It did not take much convincing that I should help out in the creation of a tribute to more than 55,000 young airmen 

Out of the blue - literally - as a thank-you for my support, the RAF invited me to fly in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster Bomber as part of the flypast over Buckingham Palace for the Queen's birthday celebrations.

As well as being an incredible honour, it was also an amazing insight into what the Bomber Command crews had to endure. While flying through windy and turbulent airspace over London on a June day in 2013 was uncomfortable enough in startlingly cramped conditions, those young men did superhuman jobs seven decades ago in carrying out their missions in the pitch black, with anti-aircraft fire exploding around them, and fighters chasing them down.

Here are some photos from my day with the http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/59769416@N02/9085575167/ Here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t87Rpg2o3BM http://www.caudwell.com/