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Kent RAF veterans reunited by chance after 30 years

Phil Harrisonin Maidstone
BBC/Phil Harrison Iris Sheppard and Robin Green sat on a sofa at Cavell Park care home in Maidstone wearing RAF medals and poppiesBBC/Phil Harrison
Iris Sheppard and Robin Green were both active members in the RAF Association's Maidstone branch

Two RAF veterans have been reunited at a Kent care home after not seeing each other for 30 years.

Iris Sheppard, 103, and Robin Green, 87, were both active members of the RAF Association's Maidstone branch and regularly met at military events and remembrance services.

They had not seen each other since the 1990s but were reunited when Green spotted Sheppard in the bistro at Cavell Park care home.

Green said he immediately recognised Sheppard, struck up a conversation and soon discovered they were both living at the care home.

"I'll never forget what she said," he told BBC Radio Kent.

"'What are you doing here!?' 'Well I live here'. 'Oh', she said, and we went off from there", he chuckled.

Iris Sheppard Iris Sheppard in her Women's Auxiliary Air Force uniform in a photograph taken in the 1940sIris Sheppard
Iris Sheppard is a former member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and served in the Far East during World War 2

Sheppard joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in May 1941 when she was 18 years old.

Her wartime service took her across Britain and Northern Ireland before she was posted to the Far East, including Sri Lanka and Singapore.

She was based in Colombo when Japan surrendered in 1945 and the Second World War came to an end.

She later travelled to Singapore while Japanese soldiers were still in the city.

Following her service, she continued working in the region, including for Lord Louis Mountbatten, before returning to the UK.

She later settled in Maidstone, where she founded a local WAAF association and remained involved in Armed Forces and remembrance activities.

Robin Green Robin Green in RAF uniform during his National Service days in the early 1960sRobin Green
Robin Green was one of the last men called up for National Service in the Royal Air Force

Green was among the last men called up for National Service in the Royal Air Force.

He served for two years at RAF Hendon before going on to work for the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall.

Following his retirement, he spent more than 20 years as chairman and pallbearer for the RAF Association's Maidstone branch.

The pair now regularly reflect on their military experiences and say it is important future generations learn from the past.

"Don't do it again, that's the main thing really," said Sheppard.

"It is oh so important with what's going on in the world today it makes you wonder just exactly what is going to happen."

Green said maintaining strong armed forces remained important because "we can't do without them".

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