Buxton neighbours honour RAF pilot for wartime service during VE Day street party

Ninety-six-year-old Michel Hampson was presented with a special cake when householders on Amberley Drive held a socially distanced street party on Friday.

Michael, who was educated at Buxton College, served from 1941 to 1961 in the RAF - leaving the service as a flight lieutenant.

His career flying the big multi-engine planes of the day also took in the Korean War and conflicts in the Far East as well as piloting VIPs including the last Viceroy of India, Earl Mountbatten, and aero engineer Sir Frederick Handley Page - who designed the famous Halifax aircraft and was known as the father of the heavy bomber.

Michael - who in civilian life was a partner in Hampson Brothers auctioneers - also took part in the Berlin Airlift flying Douglas Dakotas into the beleaguered city.

He literally kept the fires of freedom burning with plane-loads of coal as the Soviets tried to freeze the population into submission at the start of the Cold War.

The veteran, who flew returning servicemen back from India and Burma, visited places as varied as Hawaii and Hiroshima in his career.

During the street party he sat outside his home with a treasure trove of memorabilia including his flying boots, newspaper cuttings and a parachute bag which delighted neighbours and their children.

Michael told the Advertiser: “VE Day is special mainly because of thinking of the relief when war was over - the sadness for all those friends and acquaintances who had gone during the war and the hope that we should never have another war.”

Ironically despite his globe-spanning career he spent VE Day 1945 grounded in Buxton while he recuperated from injury.

He said: “My ambition had always been to fly heavy bombers but on my first solo night flight in one I crashed.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor