by holdthefrontpage staff
A former journalist whose wartime bravery saved Buckingham Palace from a direct hit by a German bomber in the Battle of Britain has died, aged 90.
Ray Holmes had fought a two-year battle with cancer and died at Hoylake Cottage Hospital in Wirral.
Ray began his career as a reporter on the Birkenhead Advertiser where he worked until the start of the Second World War, and he later joined his father's news agency.
He had been one of the first men to join the RAF Volunteer Reserve on its formation in 1936 and during the war served as a fighter pilot.
He flew many different types of aircraft in a wide range of situations, but was best known for helping save Buckingham Palace from a direct hit in an act of selfless bravery.
Ray spotted a German Dornier bomber lined up to attack it on September 15, 1940, but had run out of ammunition, so the pilot from 504 Squadron used his Hurricane to slice through the tail of the intruder.
He then parachuted to safety while his plane crashed into Buckingham Palace Road and the German bomber plunged into part of Victoria station.
The incident was covered in the film The Battle of Britain.
Ray Holmes
A Channel 5 TV documentary last year showed archaeologists unearthing parts of his Hurricane plane, in which he visited the site near Buckingham Palace Road.
He was shown the fighter's joy-stick, which appropriately had the firing button set to "fire".
After the war Ray's civilian career led to him becoming well known in the Wirral area, particularly in the Liverpool Law Courts which he and his father, Chris Holmes, had covered for national and local newspapers since 1925.
Ray also became recognised throughout the country as an agricultural photographer, specialising in colour photography.
Flags were flying at half-mast in his honour in Wirral, where he lived for most of his life and had last year been awarded Freedom of the Borough. His widow received a message from Buckingham Palace expressing the Queen's sadness on hearing of his death.
Ray, whose nickname was Arty, married Elizabeth in 1941. After her death he married, in 1966, Anne, who survives him with two daughters from his first marriage, and a son and daughter from his second.
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