A MAN from Evesham has recalled his memories of the late Prince Philip while serving in the Royal Air Force.

82-year-old Peter Stewart, who lives in Evesham, says he was ‘partly responsible’ for the safety of the Duke of Edinburgh’s aircraft landing on an airfield in Borneo in the Far East while he was serving in the Far East Air Force.

Peter said: “In May 1964 I received instructions that I was to proceed to Labuan, in Borneo to install a mobile CRDF Unit (Cathode Ray Direction Finding) on the airfield there. For security reasons my visit and the installation of the equipment was not divulged. Accompanied by my assistant, Maurice Rawlings, we were first flown to Penang, in Malaya, for a flight to Labuan.

“The aircraft used for the flight to Borneo was then a rather dilapidated Bristol Freighter belonging to the New Zealand Air Force; a nerve wracking experience.

“On arriving at Labuan we immediately set about checking over the mobile unit before moving it onto the airfield. The weather at the time was atrocious and held up the installation for a day. After the unit was installed and working I was then informed that an aircraft containing a V.I.P. would be landing on the airfield.

“On landing we were surprised to see the Duke of Edinburgh emerge from the aircraft; which I believe he had piloted himself. He was of course a very experienced pilot, being awarded his wings at Buckingham Palace on May 4, 1953.

“The CRDF unit was brought up to Borneo on a barge from Penang, Malaya where myself and a colleague had prepared for its transfer some week earlier. It had not been used for some time and provided shelter for a very large snake, a King Cobra, that had to be persuaded to leave its shelter by the station fire brigade using fire hoses.”