A GROUP of eight heroes who flew Lancaster bombers during the Second World War shared their memories at a reunion.

There were two Essex airmen among the veterans who gathered together, at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

The men, who together would have made up a full Lancaster crew, posed for photos in front of their old four-engined aircraft before going inside once again to relive the many nights they spent dodging enemy fire while flying missions over Nazi-occupied Europe. Flight Sergeant Jim Mc-Gillivay, from South Ockendon, said: “When you get in, it’s feet first, like slipping a cork in to a bottle.

“I am a little bit fatter now because I was 18 then but it was a wonderful feeling.

“Back then it was frightening, but once the aircraft took off you had to get on with it and do your job.”

Of the 90,000 men who joined Bomber Command, only about 10,000 avoided being killed, seriously injured or taken prisoner during the war.