Ten years after the death of Battle of Britain pilot Bill Wilkinson, of Hullavington, his secret memoirs have been published and reveal what it was like to be involved in the long dark years of war.

Mr Wilkinson’s family were shocked to discover handwritten accounts of life in the RAF after he died in 2000. They have now been published on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Daughter Sally Bryant, of Maidenhead, said: “I was in my dad’s study when I came across this folder full of computer paper covered in his writing.

“I was very moved, and really quite stunned because I had no idea what he had done in the war. It was only when I became an adult that I realised he had flown in the Battle of Britain – he never talked about it.”

Mr Wilkinson, 84, was a fighter pilot with 501 Squadron (Hurricanes) and flew throughout the war.

When he retired from the RAF in August 1970 he spent ten years in the Civil Service and ended up working at RAF Hullavington.

While there he started writing the story of how he became a fighter pilot and his account of the war.

Mrs Bryant, a former Penguin Books publisher, said: “It is not just the story of one man’s personal battle to become a fighter pilot but also the engrossing tale of the part he played in the larger battle to defend his country.

“It is highly readable, of great interest to Second World War flying enthusiasts and Battle of Britain experts and also something of a social document about the war generally.”

A visit to Sir Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus when he was 14 inspired Mr Wilkinson to join the RAF. His parents were not keen on the idea, but in 1934 they relented and he joined on November 5. He rose from aircraft hand to pilot with 501 Squadron in 1940, and gained his wings five years and a day after enlisting.

He lived in Hullavington from 1966 to 2000 with his wife and their one daughter, and served as a parish councillor as well as working tirelessly for the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council, raising thousands of pounds for the charity.

Mrs Bryant said: “A few weeks after his death the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – a Hurricane, Lancaster and Spitfire – gave a flypast at RAF Colerne during 501 Squadron’s annual reunion.

“The pilot of the Hurricane had been told of my dad’s death and on their way home the planes made a diversion to fly over Hullavington village.

“The Hurricane flew twice over his house on The Parklands, then the pilot waggled his wings to the watching villagers and flew off over the trees. it was a wonderful tribute across the generations from one Hurricane pilot to another.”