‘They called me Taxi’: 99-year-old Spitfire pilot reflects on his life and service

One of few remaining Spitfire pilots, 99-year-old John Ritchie looks back at his time defending the skies in the service of his country as Premier Chris Minns officially recognises his achievements.

Second World War veteran and spitfire pilot, John Ritchie, who turns 100 next month. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

At almost 100 years old, World War II veteran John Ritchie reminisced that during the early days of his service “they called me Taxi”.

While learning to fly a Spitfire fighter aircraft in Zimbabwe – then Rhodesia – John recalled his fellow pilots said: “I’d never be able to do more than taxiing”.

At a celebration ahead of Mr Ritchie’s 100th birthday in the coming weeks, Premier Chris Minns presented the near-centenarian with an acknowledgment of his service joined by four generations of the Ritchie family.

John Ritchie, top right, with his fellow pilots in Alexandria, Egypt in 1945. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Looking at a photo of Mr Ritchie and his friends (above), Mr Minns joked that the Spitfire pilots would have been popular “with the ladies”.

“Not very often,” Mr Ritchie laughed.

Reflecting on his time as a war-time pilot he said his spritely younger years at “19 and 20 (were) the right age to fly a Spitfire”.

“What a wonderful life I’ve had, and that was part of it.”

Having served with Occupational Forces in Italy in 1945, John was preparing to fly to Japan in the days leading up to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Mr Ritchie, with Wing Commander Michael Stuart-Watt, Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Veterans David Harris at state parliament. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“I never shot anybody, I never killed anybody, which I’m quite proud of now,” he said.

After the war, John trained as an architect in Cape Town. He worked in the region for several years before his son David was born in 1951, the family then moving to Sydney. John’s work took him across NSW before he and his family settled on the north shore in 1965.

David Ritchie grew up hearing stories of his father being awarded for his “exceptional flying skills”.

In an incident near the end of 1944 while serving with the Royal Air Force, John “lost a wheel and he was given the choice of either doing a belly landing or a one-wheel landing, which is a tricky thing to do,” David said.

Choosing the latter, he managed to get the plane down on the ground without any damage.

It was just one of many times John Ritchie excelled himself in the theatre of war.