One of the ‘Female Few’ came face to face with a Spitfire and a Hurricane again after almost 70 years out of the cockpit.

Pilot Joy Lofthouse, 89, one of the last remaining of the 160 women working for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the war, took to the skies again from Lydd Airport – this time in a helicopter to fly next to both iconic aircraft during an event to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Joy left the runway accompanied by a Spitfire Mk VB BM597, flown by RAF Flt Lt Charlie Brown and the Hurricane Mk XII ZS140 piloted by RAF Flt Lt Dave ‘Harvs’ Harvey from the Historic Aircraft Collection.

Her last flight as a Spitfire pilot was in September 1945.

For Joy’s flight in the Heli-Charter chopper, she sat next to pilot Brian Bridgeman.

At her side flew the vintage aircraft as they made their way across the White Cliffs of Dover, the South Foreland Lighthouse and the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne.

Just before she stepped aboard the helicopter RAF trumpeter Bill Wells had sounded the last post in honour of ‘The Few’ who defended the Kent skies from the enemy in 1940.

As an ATA ferry pilot in 1943, it was Joy’s job to fly Hurricanes and Spitfires straight from the factories to the squadrons at airfields all over Britain.

The headquarters of these unsung heroes was at White Waltham Airport, near Maidenhead. She had joined the ATA after spotting an advertisement in a flying magazine. She recalled: “I thought that looks like an exciting job!”

Joy, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, trained in a Miles Magister and a Havard before being introduced to her favourite, the Spitfire.

“When I first flew solo in a Spit I remember hoping I wouldn’t make a mess of it. I knew I had a very specialised job and needed to prove I knew what I was doing,” she recalled. “I learned to fly a Spitfire before I learned to drive a car.”

Her sister, Yvonne MacDonald, 91, who now lives in America, also became an ATA girl in 1943.

“We were the only sisters flying for the ATA,” explained Joy. Pilots in the ATA included the pioneering aviator, Amy Johnson, who died along with 14 other female pilots while ferrying vital aircraft as part of the war effort.

During her recent nostalgic day with Canterbury-based Action Stations! which runs the ‘Fly with a Fighter’ experiences, Joy also met company founder, Steve Burt, the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots, and many enthusiasts.

Joy reckons the small Spitfire cockpit fits the female form much better than a man’s: “Although I don’t think the designer, R J Mitchell, had us girls in mind when he imagined who would be at the controls,” she added.

Today, worldwide only 12 Hurricanes are still flying, compared to 70 Spitfires.

Mr Burt said: “It was brave women like Joy who played a major role in keeping our squadrons supplied with the aircraft necessary to defeat the enemy.”