Yorkshire’s last survivor of the Battle of Britain will celebrate his 90th birthday tomorrow.

Terry Clark, of Wheldrake, near York, risked his life to defend his country during the fraught days of 1940.

His role was to hunt and destroy enemy aircraft as an air gunner in a two-man Blenheim fighter – a job that made him one of “The Few” in Winston Churchill’s famous speech: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” Churchill told the House of Commons in August 1940.

Yesterday, members of 76 Squadron at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York, held a surprise birthday party for Mr Clark, who they have adopted as an honorary member.

“I thought I had been invited to Linton to tell war stories for schoolchildren, so when I arrived I was completely taken aback,” said Mr Clark.

“It was such a marvelous surprise and I almost ended up in tears. “I do love coming to Linton – for me, being back with the pilots and navigators is like going home. “If only I was a few years younger I would be back in the air with them.”

Fellow veterans Bert Kirtland DFC and George Smith, who flew with 76 Squadron during the war, also joined in the celebrations and presented Mr Clark with a cake decorated with an RAF roundel motif.

Mr Clark, who had never considered joining up until he saw a recruitment poster for the RAF in 1938, switched roles later in the war to become a radar navigator on Beaufighters.

His job was to detect and guide his pilot directly towards enemy aircraft at night and, once within range, give the order to open fire.

It was a job he was good at, being credited with shooting down five enemy aircraft, enough to label him – had he been a pilot – as an ace.

But his successes were noted and he was duly awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal and commissioned as an officer.

For his wartime bravery, Mr Clark was also awarded five other medals, including the rare Battle of Britain medal and clasp – all which bear testimony to his courage.