Hastings WWII pilot and veteran on Anzac Day and making it to 100

Hastings WWII veteran Len Charlton served with the Royal NZ Air Force. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine

If someone had told Len Charlton he’d make it to 100 years old when he was shipping out for World War II, he’d have responded “baloney”.

The Hastings veteran recently reached the milestone and knows he is one of the “lucky ones” who returned home to loved ones after the war concluded in 1945.

He makes certain he attends the Anzac Day service in Clive each year to pay his respects, including for old friends who never returned home.

Len served with the Royal NZ Air Force as a pilot in the Pacific during the last year of WWII.

Born and bred in Hawke’s Bay, an interest in aircraft led him to join the Air Force and he trained in New Zealand and Canada before being sent to the Pacific aged about 20.

“We did see a bit of [combat] but it was in the distance, the Americans were controlling it.”

WWII veteran Len Charlton with his wife, Judith. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine

He said their main role was to support the likes of the US troops in the Pacific and conduct scouting missions among other tasks.

He flew a variety of planes but his main aircraft was a Kittyhawk.

“We went to different islands [and] were sent all over the place.”

Len, whose older brother Sid also survived the war, said he can still recall the war ending and “grabbing the first bottle” he could find when the news came in that the war had concluded.

However, returning home without old friends was difficult.

“My colleague and I, we had both graduated together, had gone away together and were sent overseas together, and one morning we were flying together and the idea was to fly to 14,000 feet then level off and we were going to do scouting,” he said, of a particular mission prior to the war ending.

He said something went wrong with his friend’s plane and it crashed off the coast of an island.

“That was the finish of him.”

Understandably, Len gave up flying when he returned from the war.

He was offered a position with the Royal Air Force in England but knocked it back.

“I thought my duty, I suppose, now was to go home and show some respect at home,” he said, working with his father at his mechanic shop.

“Coming home you felt as though you’d had enough [of war] and felt lucky to be where you were, so I was quite content to be back home.”

He worked in various jobs through his adult years including owning and operating an orchard.

His wife, Judith, said it was important for them to attend an Anzac Day service every year, often accompanied by the wider family.

Judith said their family - which included three children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren - were proud of Len.

“He has been a really good man, we have had a great life together.”

Last week, Len received a letter from King Charles III thanking him for his service in WWII.

Remarkably, Len also survived the 1931 Napier earthquake during his first day of school, at Te Awa School.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.