THE Anzac centenary has prompted Bill Taylor of Sutherland Shire to bring out his rare collection of war memorabilia from his days as a World War II fighter pilot.
Mr Taylor, 93, served in 45 Squadron Royal Air Force, flying Mosquito combat aircraft over Burma (now Myanmar).
He flew 65 operational sorties or missions into enemy territory.
Overall, he flew 7030 hours — precisely recorded in his log books and personal diary.
His meticulous attention to detail carried over into his collection and care of war memorabilia which includes log books, maps, training manuals, aircraft identification guides, service records, pay book and photographs.
He has kept his uniforms, trunk, compass, survival kit and a piece of a Mosquito aircraft. He rarely brings his collection out for display but was prompted to do so by his daughter Sue, who lives with him.
Mr Taylor, who was born at Kogarah, enlisted in the RAAF at 20 and was assigned to the RAF after he trained as a pilot in Canada and Britain.
He flew Tiger Moths, Beaufighters, Mosquitoes, Harvards, Blenheims, Ansons and Oxfords.
His duties included flying wounded Australian servicemen out of the Burmese jungle.
He remembers one particular sortie on Boxing Day, 1944.
"We were ordered to go on a dusk raid on Heho aerodrome. It was a low-level run over the treetops," he said.
"There was very heavy ground fire. They were firing tracers and one guy definitely had me in his sights.
"The bullets were coming over the top of the aircraft. I knew if he just lowered his sights he would have us. And he did.
"He set fire to the starboard engine and a great wall of smoke came out of the engine.
"We pressed the fire extinguisher and put the fire out.
"We couldn't get back over the mountains to base but we had been briefed that there was an emergency landing strip in the jungle.
"We had to land in the dark. The emergency airstrip did not have any night landing facilities.
"Then I saw eight trucks driving out of the depot and they parked shining their lights on the landing strip and guided us in."
After the war Mr Taylor returned to civilian life, working for a wool merchant. He married Una in 1950 and they lived at Kogarah, raising their two children, Sue and Greg.
He now has four grandchildren.
He moved to the shire about 20 years ago. Mrs Taylor died last year.
Daughter Sue said her father never got his collection of war memorabilia out of storage but because of the Anzac centenary, he felt that it was time do so, and reflect on his war experiences.
His grandchildren Brett and Leigh have typed up his war experiences in book form. Mr Taylor said it was important that Anzac Day continued to be observed.