After the original plan for a Jubilee event in Oxfordshire went awry, attendees got an even better surprise.

Launton, a village near Bicester, celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in style with an event organised by Launton Sports and Social and Playing Fields Association.

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Wendy Foster, a funding consultant, had previously made a successful application to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) to have Britain’s last airworthy spitfire perform a flyby at the event.

However, on the day, it was deemed too windy to send out the spitfire, so instead BBMF sent a Lancaster Bomber in its place.

Wendy said: “The flypast was brilliant. It was too windy for the spitfire, so BBMF sent us a four-merlin engine Lancaster Bomber.

“It came right down; people couldn’t believe how low it came. A lot of people came out from Bicester when they heard it was coming.

“It was very loud, you could hear it coming before it arrived.”

The celebrations - which took place over two days and included a dog show, traditional stock and sponge-throwing, aunt sally, dancers and a beer festival – marked Launton residents first social gathering since Covid.

Wendy added: “We’ve never had such a crowd in Launton. People from all ages came out to enjoy the activities and see the plane.

“It was quite emotional having everybody together like that.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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