Remembrance Sunday 2019: Moment Second World War plane drops 750,000 poppies over White Cliffs of Dover

A WW2 Dakota plane dropped 750,000 poppies over the White Cliffs of Dover as the UK paid tribute to its war dead on Remembrance Sunday.

RAF servicemen who served during the Second World War were among those on board the battle-scarred aircraft during stunning spectacle above the English coastline.

Below, hundreds of people packed the Battle of Britain memorial, at the edge of the same cliffs that formed a welcome sight for hundreds of thousands of soldiers returning from Dunkirk in 1940.

The Dakota, a veteran of D-Day, was flanked by two Spitfires as it flew low over the Kent coastline.

It came a millions of people across the country paid tribute to Britain's war dead, with Prince Charles laying a wreath on behalf of the Queen at the Cenotaph in London.

750,000 poppies being dropped over the White Cliffs of Dover
REUTERS

The aircraft flew at an altitude of just 500ft, with the biodegradable poppies released as it passed over the memorial.

Second World War veteran Warrant Officer Roy Briggs was one of those who went up in the Dakota.

Two WWII Spitfires and a C47 A Dakota fly on Remembrance Sunday
REUTERS

He served as a wireless operator on Lancaster aircraft with 576 squadron, conducting raids at Plauen and Bremen.

The 94-year-old great-grandfather said he spent the flight thinking of a Lancaster crew he knew, who all lost their lives during a wartime mission.

Remembrance Sunday 2019: Cenotaph commemorations

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He said: "I am 94 and they are still 20 and 21. They will never be anything else to me."

Mr Briggs said the flight on Sunday was something of a surprise, revealed just a few days before.

"I couldn't really believe at 94 I was getting involved in something like this," he said.

Flight Lieutenant George Prichard, 96, said the Dakota flight was "wonderful".

He added: "It was a great, great day and I was thrilled to be part of the event. Something I had never expected I would be doing. Something I shall remember for a very, very long time."

During the Second World War, Mr Prichard was posted from Tech Signals Radar (Air) Branch to 151 Night Fighter Squadron on Mosquitos.

There he supported action on D-Day and across Europe throughout the Normandy campaign by maintaining crucial radar equipment used on the aircraft.

The vintage Dakota aircraft took part in the troop drops on D-Day. It still has 40 bullet holes in its fuselage dating back to those battles, including a spot near the cockpit where a shell passed clean through both sides of the plane.

The Spitfires, both Mk IX models, saw action over Normandy during the war. They flew from RAF Duxford on Sunday morning to meet the Dakota before the trip to Dover.

The event was the brainchild of Kent-based Aero Legends, with proceeds going to the annual Poppy Appeal.

Additional reporting by PA Media

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