Sir Richard Gorham is possibly one of the most decorated Second World War airmen in the world. After the war he was given a number of awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross Italy (DFC) and a few years ago he was made a knight. But the 87 year old told , with some humour, that if not for the bravery of two small Welsh children his flying career might never have got off the ground.

Sunday is Victory in Europe (VE) Day, the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler?s Third Reich.

?Before I was sent on my first mission, I had to go on a training flight to somewhere in England,? said Sir Richard. ?We had to land somewhere and figure out where we were. It was part of our training, to land in unusual places.

?Before we went I was told not to land in a field of cows or bulls. The cows liked the glue that held the plane together and would tear it apart. I landed in this field and didn?t see the bull until I was down. Then when I got out he came right up to the plane. He kept snorting and he looked like he wanted to charge. So I ran out of the field and jumped over the fence. There were two children walking by. They said, ?Don?t worry, mister?. They picked some thistles, hopped the fence and went up to the bull. They tickled the bull in the nose with the thistles and he turned and fled.?

Sir Richard said he was somewhat embarrassed to have to be rescued by two little children.

In 1938, when he was 18 years old he joined the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers (BVEs).

?I thought there was a war coming,? he said. ?I was 18, but I had brains. Myself and some friends of mine all got pickled and joined up in the BVEs.?

While in Bermuda working in signalling his intelligence and ingenuity was spotted by his superior officers. He was selected to become an officer.

?When war was declared the British Empire could make all members of the British Commonwealth serve in the country in which they were born, but not in any other country unless they volunteered,? he said. ?The New Zealanders, South Africans, Australians and Bermudians and others were all volunteers. Tens of thousands volunteered.?

Sir Richard went to England to train to be in the Royal Artillery and the Pilot Army Air Command. Out of the 25 people who were in his course, only 12 were selected. Six of the 12 were selected to be captains. Sir Richard was one of the six.

?It scared the hell out of me the first time I flew, especially at night,? he said. ?It was very scary. We would take off at night, and if you left the flight path you would be lost. All the lights were off. I made sure I didn?t. I came in and I landed and that was it. I use to fly the airplane upside down on purpose as part of my training. I use to fly two or three sorties of two and half hours a day. I had jobs to do. I would fly and take pictures and that sort of thing.?

Part of his job was to tell attacking British ships where their missiles had landed.

Flying planes during the war was an extremely dangerous job. The estimated lifespan of a Royal Air Force pilot was six weeks. His mother was upset that he had signed up, but his father, who had been in the First World War was resolute, saying he understood that the young Richard Gorham had to do his duty.

?In my Squadron of 21, 19 were killed,? said Sir Richard. ?You are looking at a mirage. I had a near miss once a week. I never crashed, but I had a lot of near misses. I was very lucky. But if you use your bean and have luck you can survive, probably. A lot of people had both but still were killed. It was a hit and miss affair.?

The Germans had machine guns with three different reaches. Unfortunately for the Germans, there were gaps in the reach of the guns. For instance, between the first and second level of machine gunnery the Germans had no accurate coverage between 2,500 and 4,000 feet.

?I flew an Auster at 6,000 feet,? said Sir Richard, ?because between 6,000 and 8,000 feet they had nothing. The Germans were shooting at me but they had to guess my speed because they couldn?t put it on the dial. That is why I am still alive.?

Sir Richard?s tactic was so successful that other pilots came to him for advice.

?They wanted to use my tactics,? he said. ?I had to show other people how I was doing it. I was there for two years. After 1945 I became redundant, out of service. They made me a flight commander. I was in charge of all northern Italy flight craft of the VIPs, generals and field marshals. I use to fly them all around Italy. I had 22 aircraft and 22 Apollos that were part of my command.?

Things didn?t always go smoothly. He had several near misses and brushes with death.

?You can?t get mad, but on one mission I got mad and it almost did me in,? he said. ?I got lower and lower until I was flying at 1,500 feet.

?All the sudden I heard a rumbling. I saw something going by me. It was artillery shells flying by me on either side. I didn?t know what to do. I was boxed in, but somehow I got out of there. I was lucky. They probably thought they had already gotten me which was why they let me go.?

During the war Sir Richard was stationed in Africa, Italy, Yugoslavia, England and Austria.

While flying missions over Florence, Italy, he was told by the authorities to ?not mess up the place? because of its historic and artistic value.

?I was flying over and I saw this guy below me on a motorbike,? he said. ?He looked up at me and I saw how white his face was. I watched him. He ran into the building. Normally, I would have killed him. This time I said ?what is the point of killing this man? The war is almost over.? So I let him go.?

He did attempt to shake the man up, a little though.

After the war he was made an honorary colonel of the Royal Artillery. He was also given the Distinguished Flying Cross for Italy, a Victory Medal and given the Italian Campaign Medal 1939-1945 Star Defence of Great Britain.

The citation for his Distinguished Flying Cross award written by a brigadier general reads: ?He flew large numbers of hazardous sorties, engaged many enemy guns and mortars, which necessitated his flying low over enemy lines.

His competence and gallantry was materially invested in many successful operations by enabling the ground troops to get on. The immediate award of the DFC to this officer is for very gallant conduct and great devotion to duty. This award is strongly recommended.?

His wife, Barbara, was born in the United States. She was on the same flight to Bermuda as Sir Richard when he returned home after the war. He met her at a party the next day.

?She had her eye on me, you see,? Sir Richard said with a laugh. ?She saw something good, that?s what I tell her.?

However, he admits that her side of the story might vary, slightly.

They have five children, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Their youngest great grandchild was born only last week.

These days Sir Richard is hoping to have a book written about his experiences.

There is also a room in the Museum of Army Flying in Middle Wallop, Hampshire, England that is dedicated to Sir Richard?s achievements.

?About ten years ago the general in charge, said to me ?Richie, we?d like to build a room in the museum in your honour?. I asked him why he?d want to do that. Normally, you have to give them ?2 million or ?3 million before they do that. I hadn?t given them anything.

?He said it was because I was one of the most decorated pilots in the world. So they named a room after me. Then last year another General said he wanted to put an oil painting of me in the mess. They said they wanted to do it, they have never had an overseas officer in the mess. It has always been British.?

Many of Sir Richard?s wartime memorabilia and pictures can also be seen in Bermuda at the Commissioner?s House at the Bermuda Maritime Museum in Dockyard.

Sir Richard said he tried to fly a plane again a few years after the war ended.

?I was cruising down in Virginia, but I couldn?t fly like I had before,? he said. ?You can do it but not properly. I couldn?t fly operational.?

He said when he was a little boy he didn?t necessarily dream of being an aircraft pilot, he wanted to go into business. After the war he was president of a staggering number of businesses including the Bermuda Paint Company, A. J. Gorham Limited and the Bermuda Office Supply Company among others. He was also director of the Bank of Bermuda Ltd. from 1966 until he retired in 1990.

His wife Barbara said that if there was one thing her husband learned during the war, it was to say his prayers every night.

?He always told himself that if he survived the war he would try to do something good for people,? she said. ?And he has.?

Sir Richard has been president of everything from the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and the Chairman of the Bermuda Floral Pageant to Chairman of the Finance Committee of the United Bermuda Party.

He has also been financial advisor to different scholarship schemes, The Royal Artillery Association Club of St. George?s, Summerhaven and the Matilda Smith Williams Home among many others.