Heroic fighter pilot visits Rustington home

Jo pictured during his days as a second world war fighter pilot L44505H13

On May 30, 1949, John Oliver ‘Jo’ Lancaster made aviation history by becoming the first pilot to eject from an aircraft in an emergency situation using a Martin-Baker ejection seat.

Following the ejection, Jo was presented with a gold Rolex watch by Sir James Martin, founder of Martin-Baker Aircraft Co Ltd – a watch which has now been sold for £5,000.

The money will be going toward supporting the RAF Benevolent Fund which runs the Princess Marina House respite centre for serving and former members of the RAF, in Seafield Road.

Jo Lancaster, pictured, with the Rolex watch that he is donating to Princess Marina House as part of his fund-raising for the RAF Benevolent Fund, which runs the home L44504H13

Jo, who lives in Hassocks and visited the home last Wednesday, said: “I was certainly not expecting to have to use my ejector seat.

“It all happened very quickly and I actually ejected without carrying out the proper procedure.

“Luckily, the seat did what it was meant to and I was very lucky to survive with both legs. I was pretty bruised but I was back at work within about three weeks.”

During Jo’s trip, he described how the watch was almost lost forever when it was stolen in 1975.

The Martin family discovered the timepiece only last year, in New York – thousands of miles from Jo’s home.

They purchased the item and returned it decided to return it to its rightful owner.

As a former Bomber Command pilot, Jo’s wish was for the watch to be used to raise money towards the upkeep of the RAF Benevolent Fund’s Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London.

Explaining why he was fundraising for the charity, Jo said: “I was absolutely gobsmacked when I was presented with the watch for the second time. However, having survived without it since it was sadly stolen in 1975, I thought it could be used to help the RAF Benevolent Fund preserve the memory of those in Bomber Command that weren’t as lucky as we were.”

Martin-Baker purchased the watch for £5,000, cash which was donated to the charity. It is now displayed proudly in the Martin-Baker museum, together with the original letter from Sir James Martin to Jo Lancaster. The war hero added it was nice to know that the watch was back where his story began.