VE Day: War veteran tells incredible story of near-death experience during WWII

8 May 2020, 07:08

VE Day: War veteran Kenneth Jones tells incredible story of near-death experience

By Fiona Jones

War veteran Kenneth Jones, 99, recounted the remarkable moment he was chased down by a German bomber plane.

The London-born RAF engineer Mr Jones was at a Norfolk aerodrome working on a Blenheim bomber. He remarked that he was the only engineer out in the open at the time.

"Suddenly I heard an unfamiliar engine noise from an aeroplane. I said that's a German, it must be, it's not one of ours.

"So it approached the aerodrome and there was no cover for me at all except my aeroplane and I wasn't going to get underneath that because that's what he's going to bomb.

"But there was a tiny little bush on the edge of the field and I dashed to it. It was no cover at all really, but I bent down and tried to take advantage of what was a little bush with almost no leaves on it.

"Indeed it was a German plane because he dropped many bombs across the centre of the air field and the idea was of course to stop our bombers from taking off because there were great big craters everywhere."

War veteran tells incredible story of near death experience during WWII
War veteran tells incredible story of near death experience during WWII. Picture: Fiona Jones

"After he finished his run of dropping the bombs, he went away and I took advantage of that. I thought he's going to come back now, he's dropped his bombs he's going to use his guns.

"So he went away and I started running like mad from this little bush for the nearest air raid shelter which was about 100 yards away.

"As I quickly descended the steps into the safety of the air raid shelter, the bullets from the plane were hitting the concrete top of the air raid shelter and I got down just in time.

"If I had misjudged it by two seconds I would think I would have been dead. So that was rather good fortune," he said.

After working in Norfolk for 18 months Mr Jones was posted to Egypt where he supported Field Marshal Montgomery and the 8th Army in the desert. He was part of the historic moment the Allies chased the Germans out of north Africa.

After the Second World War, Kenneth Jones married his wife of over 60 years Barbara Jones and they lived in north London along with their two children.

VE Day celebrates its 75th anniversary on Friday - it marks the moment the Germans unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on 8th May 1945.

Watch the full interview below - a truly engaging watch.

War veteran Kenneth Jones full interview