Three former Second World War RAF flight engineers had plenty to talk about when they met up at RAF St Mawgan's Avro Shackleton Gate Guardian aircraft.

Among them was Falmouth resident and former Master Air Engineer Bob Marshall, aged 80, who joined his life-long friend, former Master Air Engineer Jim Orford, aged 80, from north Somerset, for a trip down memory lane at the controls of the Shackleton. The wartime pals were joined by Frank Harper, aged 78, from Widemouth Bay in north Cornwall, who was made a MBE for his services to RAF historical research in the recent Queen's birthday honours list.

Jim Orford was particularly keen to visit the Cornish airfield as his grandson, Flight Lieutenant Bob Jones, followed in his footsteps and became an RAF Flight Engineer himself and is the Station's exercise plans officer. Jim and Bob first met in 1943 when they attended the same RAF flight engineers' training course and have remained life-long friends ever since. As well as serving in No 38 Group during World War II, they went on to be each other's best man and their wives were each other's bridesmaids at their weddings.

Both were wartime flight engineers on Handley-Page Halifax four-engined bombers and specialised in glider-towing and dropping secret agents into occupied France as part of the secretive Special Operations Executive. They also took part in the D-Day operations and the ill-fated air-drop at Arnhem. Grandfather and grandson sat at the Shackleton's flight engineer's control panel before Jim showed grandson Bob Jones the position he occupied when operating Handley Page Halifax aircraft during the Second World War.