A FORMER RAF pilot from Beaminster has died at the age of 93.

Squadron Leader Jim Sprackling DFC had a distinguished career in the RAF - having decided flying held more appeal that mucking out cows on the family farm.

He was born, the eldest of six, at North Field Farm, Beaminster on July 9, 1922.

In the mid 1930s the family moved to a rented farm near Arlsford in Hampshire in order to get the milk on the London train.

On day in 1938, while on a solo training flight, a pilot got lost and landed in one of the fields.

Jim who was clearing out the cow shed, took the pilot indoors to telephone his base.

The next day a fresh pilot arrived and Hartnell-Beavis was driven by car back to his base.

This incident inspired Jim to sign up for the RAF, having decided it was a better proposition than mucking out cows.

On joining up he was sent to train as an aircraft engineer at Halton in 1939 before being posted to Westhamptnet in 1941, better known as Goodwood race track.

While there he was in charge of maintenance on Spitfires - including Douglas Bader's plane.

He then trained as a flight engineer on heavy bombers and was posted to 'shiny' 10 squadron at RAF Melbourne near York.

This squadron was equipped with Halifax four engined bombers with Hartnell-Beavis as the flight commander.

Jim was billeted in York with a Fred Wilson, who had two very attractive daughters, Freda and Doris. Fred finally let Jim marry Freda after the war ended.

Jim and his crew started their tour of duty in 1943, flying night time missions in Europe, as far afield as Berlin and Milan.

After five missions they were given a long leave pass to London.

On returning they had a new Halifax to fly as while they were away Hartnell-Beavis was shot down over Germany in their plane.

On their 14th mission they were badly shot up and almost out of fuel when they crashed at Ford aerodrome in Sussex while waiting for the runway to be cleared of a previous crashed plane. All the crew survived.

They completed their tour in 1944 and Jim was awarded the DFC.

Jim went on to teach new flight engineers, and oversee the introduction of a new engine for the Halifax fleet.

Jim went on to train as a pilot, and spent a spell in coastal command seeing who could make the longest flight - something he thought very boring.

He then converted to fighter jets and spent what he described as the best times in the RAF flying Vampires from RAF Shawbury, were he was an instructor.

He finally retired from the RAF in 1963 to return to farming. He retired to Beaminster in 1990 where he worked part time repairing lawn mowers,

Freda died in 2003 and Jim sold Shortmoor and moved to a flat in Flaxfield Road before moving into a room at Abbeyfield House in Fleet Street.

Jim passed away after a short illness in Dorchester Hospital aged 93.

He is survived by his two sons Christopher and Nicholas, and grand daughters Leila, Lilly and Elsie, Sophie, George, Jack, Megan and Jonhathan and great grandchildren Leila Lilly and Elsie.