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Ex-bomber pilot Denis Elliott, now 97, formed a 16-year friendship with Philip Martin who at first helped with chores before recently assuming roles of carer and biographer.

Over the years, Philip listened in awe to accounts of how Denis flew B-24 Liberators against the Japanese and served in Palestine and India.

And now the pair have produced a book – From Orphan to High-Flyer – charting the serviceman’s life from when he was left in a London orphanage by his mother aged three.

Chapters go on to tell how Denis was blown off his bike as he cycled home in the Blitz and diced with death in the skies after a terrifying engine fire.

Now aged 26, Philip said: “I first met Denis was I was 10 and he sold a car to my mother. They struck up a friendship and Denis would be invited over for Sunday lunch.

“As I became a teenager, I got very interested in history, so whenever Denis was over, I asked him about his time in the RAF. When I was 18, I started helping him with his garden every Saturday.Afterwards we’d chat over a cup of tea and play chess and he’d talk about his war service with 159 Squadron.

“He’d let me look through his logbooks, I’d ask him about a particular flight, and he would tell me the story behind it.

“I heard how he was held at gunpoint in Malaya, flew through storms in Japan, and carried out three mine-laying raids on Penang harbour, spending an incredible 19 hours in the air at one time.

“In the end I would visit him even if there was no work, just to spend time with him.”

Denis flew for the RAF after the war, captaining the iconic Avro Lancaster bomber and the Shackleton patrol aircraft. He finally left in 1957.

He had met wife Ruby while he was stationed in Cornwall and the couple married in 1962.

Denis worked in sales and accounts for businesses around the south of England before moving to Norwich and landing a job with Norwich Union.

He retired at 60 in 1984 – but went back to work as a carer for the elderly near his home.

Sadly, Ruby died of a stroke in 1992. Over the years Denis spent more time with Philip and his mother near Saxmundham in East Suffolk, but in 2018, he became so ill, he almost died.

Philip visited him every day in hospital, and it was then he knew he had to write Denis’s story. Philip said: “He poured his heart and soul into telling me about his life. His memory was absolutely unbelievable. He’d be in tears talking about his childhood and so happy recalling his time in the RAF.

“They are fascinating tales and have had a massive impact on me.

“It’s been my greatest honour for him to have entrusted me with his story.”

Denis said his friendship with Philip, who now takes him to the beach and cafes as his carer, was “very strong and valuable”.

Philip said: “He’s the greatest man I’ve ever met. Just to know what he went through in his life really puts things in perspective.

“It makes me realise how fortunate I am and how history can have so many twists and turns.”

• From Orphan to High-Flyer is on Amazon at £12.99 or £7.99 for the Kindle edition

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