If asked to list the activities you’d expect a 93-year-old pensioner to get up to on a Thursday morning, performing barrel rolls in a Spitfire would probably be towards the bottom.

But that’s what D-Day war veteran Bill Kingman was up to last week as he finally achieved his decades-old dream to take to the sky in the famous plane.

Bill, from Cobham, reached for the sky once more after local builder Steve Montila, 59, started a crowd funding campaign after Mr Kingman’s health began to deteriorate and it raised £2,750 from villagers.

And it’s not hard to see why this doughty old fighter captured their hearts, after all, not every village has a Legion d’Honneur recipient living in their midst, which he gained for his part in the RAF throughout the Normandy landings, among other wartime feats.

Taking off from Biggin Hill, dozens of people came out to watch him soaring through the sky above Cobham, with pupils at Cobham Primary School arranging themselves in the school field to spell out his name for him to see from above.

Mr Montila’s daughter Jess posted video of the flyover online, amassing thousands of views and comments.

“Bill is a big part of our community and his last wish was to go up in a Spitfire like his brother did in the war,” she said.

“He’s always got his badges on and is a real local hero. He’s been back out to East India and to Normandy and he’s a really amazing person.”

Bill - we salute you!