ALFRED Kenneth Anthony John Lawrence Wilmshurst was born on July 28, 1930 in Sliema, Malta, the son of an English Able Seaman in the Royal Navy and a Maltese mother.

The family moved to Tooting, London in 1934 where his mother ran a corner shop and his father worked on the London buses.

Known as” Little Alf” as a child, his father also being an Alfred, an early girlfriend took a liking to Kenneth and he was forever known as Ken thereafter.

Little Alf’s childhood was fractured by WW2, when in Sept 1940 he was evacuated to a farm in Zeal Monachorum near Crediton.

He was separated from his parents and three sisters for over a year, yet he had a very happy evacuation, was well cared for and was introduced to a whole new world. Milking cows, trapping moles and rats, picking apples and swimming in the Gissage.

In October 2022, at the age of 92, Ken returned to Loosebeare Farm, only to discover to his delight that it was still owned by the same farming family. They welcomed him back with open arms.

Aged 14 Ken went to technical college to study engineering, but ultimately decided to follow his father and grandfather into military service.

In 1951 he joined the Royal Air Force. He received his Officer Commission from the Queen in 1952 and between February and November of that year Flying Officer Ken attended No2 Navigation School at Thorney Island.

He qualified as a Navigator Plotter. From there he went to Bomber Command Bombing School and then to his first posting with 207 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk.

Throughout his career he flew 23 different aircraft but operationally flew Washingtons (B29’s) and Canberra’s at Marham and Binbrook, Valiants at Finningley, the iconic B2 Vulcan Bomber at Coningsby and Cottesmore and finally VC10’s at RAF Brize Norton.

Between 1963 and 1966 the Vulcan Bomber carried the Blue Steel bomb, Britain’s then nuclear deterrent. Ken was one of 500 Vulcan aircrew responsible at the time for the safety and security of the nation and its people.

Between 1968 and 1970 Ken was RAF Detachment Commander at Andersen US Air Base on the island of Guam, in the Pacific Ocean. The B52’s that were used during the Vietnam War were based there.

On September 1, 1977, after 26 years of service, Squadron Leader AK Wilmshurst retired from the RAF.

His aircrew log book records his ability as “Above the Average”, the final entry by his commanding officer describes him as “A very conscientious and hardworking navigator”. He flew 5,981:05 hours.

Post RAF Ken had a variety of jobs but eventually landed at Cotswold Wildlife Park where he worked in the ticket kiosk, as an occasional train driver and as Father Christmas in the Park Grotto.

His times at the Park were very happy ones, especially when sat beside his grandchildren Luke and Hannah in the ticket kiosk.

Ken died, aged 95, on Monday, June 1.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen, his sister Val, sons Chris and Michael, six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.