A LIFETIME of memories came flooding back to Peter Geldart as a solitary Spitfire roared across the skies in a salute to the fighter aircraft's birth 60 years ago this month.

The plane dipped its wings in a farewell salute as it flew over the Southampton factory where it was manufactured, before flying off to take a place in history.

The magnificent aircraft, designed by R J Mitchell, helped give the RAF the decisive edge over the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain and was a big favourite with airmen who marvelled at its power.

Though he spent his war flying Mosquitoes and Beauforts, Mr Geldart, of Queen Street, Whalley, later piloted Spitfires and has an amazing story to tell.

Not only did he bale out of one over a bleak moor, he also escaped with only a sprained ankle and was reunited with his plane more than 40 years later when a local man dug it out of the ground and tracked him down.

After war service in the RAF, Mr Geldart joined the Royal Auxiliary Aircraft Reserve, serving with the West Lancashire 611 Squadron based at Woodvale, near Southport. He worked at Blythes Chemicals, Accrington, and later as a traffic controller with British Aerospace.

It was in 1948 while he and his wife, Margaret, were living in Huncoat that drama unfolded on July 3 on a routine flight from Woodvale to Morpeth, Northumberland.

Low cloud and turbulence forced the plane into a deadly dive, and 800ft above the ground, Mr Geldart finally baled out, tearing his parachute in the process. He landed relatively safely near Kirby Stephen on the Pennine Moors and began to follow a river downstream, only to be discovered by two farmers who had seen the crash.

They took him to safety on horseback and that was the last he was to see of the area until many years later.

In 1988, a local man, Eddie Whittingham and his son, Doug, spotted part of the plane sticking out of the ground.

They got permission to dig, and finally recovered all two and a half tons of the aircraft, carting it back to their home on the moors by motorbike and tractor before lovingly restoring each piece.

And after three years of searching, they managed to track down Mr Geldart and tell him of their remarkable find. "The Spitfire had been 40ft down, but they managed to get it all out. It was a remarkable exercise in dedication," said Mr Geldart.

"Eddie and his wife called on us in Whalley, and then invited my wife and I to stay with them.

"While I was there I met Jack Hunter who was just a boy when his father found me on the moor."

Among his flying souvenirs is the belt buckle release he pressed on that fateful day. Searing heat from the crash melted part of the metal.

Another cherished possession is the pocket of his life-jacket (they were nicknamed Mae Wests by the airmen because they had bulges in all the right places). The star herself autographed Mr Geldart's pocket when she visited the base and later sent him a photograph.

"I had a very happy time flying, and I have very happy memories, especially of the Spitfires," said Mr Geldart.

"They were good aeroplanes, and the later models were extremely powerful. There was a lot of energy behind them."

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