WELL -WISHERS gathered in Oxfordshire yesterday to cheer on the military as they honoured the heroes of the Battle of Britain.

Service personnel paid tribute to those who defended Britain’s skies as the Germans tried to bomb the nation into submission 75 years ago.

In Witney a Freedom of the Town march left Woodford Way at 10.30am to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the Battle of Britain. Personnel from RAF Brize Norton carried ceremonial weapons.

People lined the streets cheering and clapping as the parade passed through the town followed by a C130 Hercules flypast.

Warrant Officer Tony Dunn, station warrant officer at Brize Norton, said: “The plan was to have the C130 flypast at the end of the national anthem. The hairs were standing up on the back of my neck as it flew over and all the applause makes it all worthwhile.”

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Witney Town Mayor Jim King added: “As a retired senior engineering officer of No 10 Squadron, I am delighted that RAF Brize Norton chose to exercise their Freedom of Witney on this the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a magnificent time in our country’s history.”

Veronika Smith, of Carterton, took her two sons, 19-month-old Benjamin and Joseph, four, to watch their dad march in the parade.

She said: “My husband, Corporal Robert Smith of 70 Squadron Brize Norton, is in the RAF so I thought it would be nice to ee him marching. The kids were very excited to see their dad too."

Joseph added: “I saw my daddy marching before he went into church. I liked the plane. It was very fast when it flew over.”

Also marking the anniversary were military and civic groups in Banbury.

Personnel lined up in Broad Street before marching to St Mary’s Church for a service.

Crowds then gathered for the Spitfire low-level flypast.

Jacqui Broadbent attendedwith her family to watch son Samuel Fayker, 13, perform with the 1460 Banbury Squadron Air Training Corps.

She said: “He was so thrilled and grinning from ear to ear as were the rest of the cadets."

The flypast saw an historic fighter plane wow the crowds with a low-level flight over Horsefair.

Airmen who gave their lives for the country later in the war were honoured at a service in Wallingford on Sunday.

The service honoured two airmen who died on September 9, 1944, when a Halifax bomber of the Royal Canadian Air Force caught fire over Wallingford.

Flying Officer John Wilding ordered his crew to bail out and he and flight engineer, Sgt John Andrew, steered the bomber away from the town before it crashed into fields at Newnham Murren.

Laying a wreath was Tom Newton, eight, of 2nd Wallingford Scouts Group.