RAF veteran Jim, 100, begins centenary year with official VE Day anniversary role
A Second World War RAF veteran who recently celebrated his 100th birthday at our Dorset care home has begun his centenary year by delivering a poignant tribute at a community ceremony.
Arthur ‘Jim’ Freer was invited to light Sturminster Newton’s official VE Day 80th anniversary beacon by the town’s Mayor Helen Lacey.
It followed her visit to Jim’s recent birthday party at Newstone House care home which also attracted fellow veterans and military service well-wishers among the guests.
Jim, who risked his life to fly more than 30 sorties over Germany and occupied France during the war, said: “I accepted the Mayor’s kind invitation to light the beacon not for me but on behalf of many other colleagues. I feel immensely lucky to be one of those who came back from the sorties, as so many didn’t. I’ve also had the massive good fortune to have reached 100.”
Born in Northamptonshire, Jim began his working life as a junior draftsman at the Harborough Aircraft Company which made engine frames for Lancaster bombers.
A wish to fly led to him joining a Royal Canadian Air Force crew as a flight engineer and flying officer stationed in Yorkshire, part of RAF Bomber Command.
He and his colleagues flew Halifax bombers, with Jim completing 33 operations including on D-Day supporting Canadian troops pushing into the French city of Caen.
His service in the liberation of France was recognised later with the country’s highest order of merit, the Légion d’Honneur.
After VE Day in 1945, Jim was posted to the Far East as a signals officer and crewed Avro York freight aircraft for the RAF postal service.
Once the war was finally over, he rejoined his old company, which had relocated to Maidenhead, and gained successive promotions to the level of production director.
He then worked for eight years for Cobham Engineering in Wimborne eventually retiring to the Dorset village of Child Okeford.
Jim’s party was an opportunity to reflect on both his military service and civilian career.
Among those attending were representatives of the RAF Association, Royal British Legion and RAF Boscombe Down, several in uniform or wearing medals and service ties.
There was a video tribute from the Canadian Royal Air Force, a letter from the French ambassador to the UK and photos presented on behalf of the RAF and Red Arrows.
In a thank-you letter to the Newstone House team for arranging and hosting the party, Jim’s wife Valerie wrote: “I wanted him to have a very special and memorable day and you really gave him this. The occasion had everything: praise, gratitude, formality and a wide-ranging appreciation, so representative of the great sacrifice made by thousands of young men as a thank-you and welcome from everyone who lived to benefit and enjoy the freedom we have and continue to enjoy today.”
Newstone House Home Manager April King said: “It was a joy to host a party which not only paid tribute to Jim himself, but also paid homage to all those who served in the war and did not have the luxury of celebrating many birthdays.”