Bermuda will bid farewell to one of its war heroes tomorrow.

The second of Bermuda's 100 World War Two volunteers to sign up, Flight Lieutenant Hugh Watlington went on to win a Distinguished Flying Medal for his wartime exploits.

He died on Wednesday at age 80.

On a mission over Malta he was knocked out by flak as his group attacked Rommel's fuel tankers and recovered just in time to save the plane and crew.

He told a newspaper reporter in 1971: "We were literally riddled with bullet holes.

"We even had bullet holes in the propeller blades. It was like flying a shredded colander. If I could have stepped outside the plane I would have said it could never fly.'' He also piloted flying boats on gruelling 30-hour trips from Britain to Bermuda.

In 1948 he established Bermuda Air Tours Ltd. and offered sightseeing tours at $6 a head.

His air taxi would ferry passengers between Cambridge Beaches and the Mid Ocean Golf Club for just a few dollars.

With planes still in his blood, Mr. Watlington took his family to Canada in the mid-1950s where he flew as a bush pilot on exploration surveys, mercy trips and mail deliveries.

He also serviced the early warning radar stations which had sprung up during the Cold War.

Returning to Bermuda in the late 1950s, he went on to run Watlington Waterworks.

Allan `Smokey' Wingood had known Mr. Watlington since childhood.

He said: "He was a lot of fun. A likable character who was never lost for words. We went to Buckingham Palace to pick up our medals and bumped into each other there.'' Mr. Watlington even managed to apply his sense of humour in the hairiest of situations.

Mr. Wingood explained: "Hugh was flying up the Norwegian fjords and there were guns firing from both sides so when he was flying back out of the fjord he flew at the same level as the guns so they ended up firing at each other.'' Mr. Watlington's daughter Kitty Knudsen also remembered her father's love of life.

She said: "He was a great story- teller. A friend said to me when they had heard he had died that there was no church in Bermuda big enough to hold everybody who loved him.'' His second wife, Joyce Watlington, said: "He was a happy person. When he was diagnosed with cancer he said `I have had a marvellous life and have done everything I wanted to do. I have no regrets'.'' She added: "He had wonderful adventures. In 1981 when he was about 60 years old one of the last remaining flying boats landed in the Great Sound on route to Europe.

"Hugh was the first one down there. They were fixing it up but the co-pilot had to go back to England.

"So the Australian pilot, Bryan Monkton, said to Hugh `Why don't you come with me. You never forget how to do it.' So off they went. He had the time of his life, flying at low altitude.'' Royal Air Force Association Secretary Brian Northcott said: "I met him through the association and became very friendly with him. He was a wonderful character. It's a sad loss.'' The funeral for Mr. Watlington will be held at Christ Church, Devonshire on Saturday at 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, relatives and friends may wish to contribute to P.A.L.S., P.O. Box DV 19, Devonshire DV BX. Members of the Bermuda War Veterans Association are requested to assemble at the church at 4.45 p.m.

Medal holders: Hugh Watlington (right) emerges from Buckingham Palace in 1944 after picking up the Distinguished Flying Medal. He is accompanied by his friend, Flight Lieutenant Allan `Smokey' Wingood, who had been awarded the Flying Cross and Mr. Wingood's wife Peggy and her daughter Katherine.

VETERAN VET