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| Eric 'Winkle' Brown: Celebrated British pilot dies, aged 97 | Eric 'Winkle' Brown: Celebrated British pilot dies, aged 97 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| One of the most famous British pilots, Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown, has died at the age of 97. | One of the most famous British pilots, Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown, has died at the age of 97. |
| He was the Royal Navy's most decorated pilot and held the world record for flying the greatest number of different types of aircraft, 487. | He was the Royal Navy's most decorated pilot and held the world record for flying the greatest number of different types of aircraft, 487. |
| During World War Two Capt Brown flew fighter aircraft and witnessed the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp. | |
| He died at the East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, after a short illness. | He died at the East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, after a short illness. |
| A statement released by his family said: "It is with deep regret that the passing of Captain Eric Melrose Brown CBE DSC AFC is announced. | A statement released by his family said: "It is with deep regret that the passing of Captain Eric Melrose Brown CBE DSC AFC is announced. |
| "Eric was the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm in which service he was universally known as 'Winkle' on account of his diminutive stature. | "Eric was the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm in which service he was universally known as 'Winkle' on account of his diminutive stature. |
| "He also held three absolute Guinness World Records, including for the number of aircraft carrier deck landings and types of aeroplane flown." | "He also held three absolute Guinness World Records, including for the number of aircraft carrier deck landings and types of aeroplane flown." |
| Born in Leith on 21 January 1919, he was educated at Fettes College and the University of Edinburgh, where he learned to fly. | Born in Leith on 21 January 1919, he was educated at Fettes College and the University of Edinburgh, where he learned to fly. |
| He caught the bug for flying at the age of eight when his father, a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during WWI, took him up in a bi-plane. | |
| "There was no second seat, but I sat on his lap and he let me handle the stick," he told the BBC in 2014. | |
| "It was exhilarating. You saw the earth from a completely different standpoint." | |
| He retired from the Royal Navy in 1970 but became the director general of the British Helicopter Advisory Board and later the president of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1982. | |
| Landmark life | |
| Capt Brown wrote numerous books of his own and forewords for other authors on the theme of aviation, before and after his retirement. | |
| In March 2015 a bronze bust of Capt Brown was unveiled at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset. | |
| At his 97th birthday celebration in London on 27 January he was joined by more than 100 pilots, including the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas. | |
| In 2014 , the war veteran was picked as the subject for the 3,000th edition of Desert Island Discs, during which he was described by presenter Kirsty Young as a "real life hero" and a "remarkable, dare-devil". | |
| "When you read through his life story, it makes James Bond seem like a bit of a slacker," she said. |