MEMORIES came flooding back for 100-year-old former RAF pilot Ray Roberts when he took to the air in a Spitfire, reports the Daily Express.

Ray, from Margate, Kent, took part in the flight at London's Biggin Hill to help mark the centenary of the former RAF airport which played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain.

He had to use a walking aid on the runaway to take his place in the legendary fighter plane.

Ray joined the RAF in 1940 and trained as a pilot but was injured the same year when his parachute failed to fully open after he bailed out of a Spitfire. 

He became a member of the Caterpillar Club, a group of servicemen and women who have jumped from a stricken aircraft and survived to tell the tale.