A World War II veteran celebrating his 100th birthday on Sunday was honoured a few days early with a special flypast by an RAF aircraft.
Fred Jennings from Lisburn, a volunteer with the Ulster Aviation Society, served with No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron installing radar systems in B-25 Mitchell medium bombers.
Originally from Newmarket in Suffolk, his love of flying started when he was around eight years old.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “In 1933 there was a sponsored race close to where I lived.
“My father woke me up early in the morning to go and see it, and there was this aircraft called the Comet — that’s the roots of my interest in aircraft.”
In January 1945, when he was only 19, a Luftwaffe air raid decimated the squadron’s base in Belgium.
Fred Jennings salutes as the huge Atlas RAF transport plane passes overhead (Photo by Peter Morrison)
He recounted how, after he dived for cover and the dust had settled, he found his headset nearby “blown to smithereens beside a cannon shell”.
After the war Fred spent some time in India, and recalled staying “right next to the Taj Mahal”.
He would eventually settle and start a family in Northern Ireland, and worked for a while as a radar specialist at Nutts Corner Airport.
He said: “I was on duty for a pretty bad crash there, a sad moment. But I also had some lucky moments, and that’s the job in a nutshell.”
He met his wife Margaret there, where she was a radio operator.
The couple went on to enjoy a long and happy marriage, having three children.
He always followed his passion for aviation, and played a part in setting up the modern instrument landing systems at what is now Belfast International Airport.
Fred retired in 1985 to spend quality time with his wife, children and grandchildren.
Fred Jennings in 1945
Margaret passed away in 2004, and Fred went on to join the Ulster Aviation Society shortly afterwards.
In 2020 he was awarded the Thank You Liberators 1945 Remembrance Medal.
Netherlands defence attaché Captain G.H (Gerrit) Nijenhu travelled over to present the decoration to Fred personally.
He turns 100 on Sunday, but ahead of the milestone UAS organised a special flypast on Thursday involving an Atlas C Mk1 RAF transport plane near the old Long Kesh airfield.
UAS chairman Ray Burrows said: “He’s an outstanding example of living history and he’s been an outstanding member of our organisation for more than 20 years.”
And Fred’s secret to living a long life?
He joked: “I have been asked this 100 times and I always say the same thing: avoid fast women and slow horses!”
UAS is holding a celebration for Fred’s birthday at the organisation’s hangars.