War hero honoured for bravery publishes autobiography at 97

In it, he also details the jaw-dropping moment when enemy fire attacked his Lancaster bomber, nearly killing the plane's gunner and forcing an emergency landing after limping back to Britain.Now, after more than a decade of work, which saw Humphrey complete the book at the Bupa care home in North London where he now lives, the story has finally been published. Colleagues at the home even held a book launch where Humphrey signed copies for friends and family.

Humphrey said: "While I started writing in 2003, I suppose you could say the book's been nearly 100 years in the making, so I'm really very proud to see the final product."I was fortunate enough to have been able to write nearly the whole book from memory, but I'd advise people to write their memories down as soon as possible."Even in a rough draft, it's a great way of helping you preserve your memories."

Humphrey was born in North London in 1920, and sent to live in Suffolk from the age of six to benefit from the country air.After being put to work on a farm, he went to school at the age of 10, leaving five years later.But he ignored his aircraft manufacturer employee father's advice to become a rose grower – little knowing that his future career would be connected to his father's work. Instead, Humphrey became an apprentice motor mechanic at a local company, where he developed a love of engines.

But Humphrey was called up to join the war effort in 1940, aged 20, becoming a flight engineer responsible for making sure all the aircraft systems were working during combat and training operations.He continued to serve until the war ended in 1945, even taking part in the infamous Battle of Berlin.The book was written with the help of Sean Feast, an expert on bomber command history after Humphrey read a story he'd written about a flight engineer, who served in the same squadrons as Humphrey.After getting in touch with Sean to see if his subject remembered him, the pair struck up a partnership of their own.

Sean said: "Humphrey had a few hairy escapes during the war. They got badly shot up on one of their operations and the mid-upper gunner was wounded."Humphrey had to go back and look after him. They managed to get back - but it was a touch-and-go landing because all their hydraulics were shot up so they'd lost their brakes, their flaps and everything."

After 52 years of marriage, Iris died in 2003, leaving Humphrey bereft so he began to put his life story on paper to give him something to focus on and help manage his grief.The title of the book refers to Humphrey being the "one" that took part in the Thousand Bomber Raids, which saw 1000 aircraft take to the skies at once as a demonstration of strength from the RAF.It also references what Humphrey saw as his chances of surviving such an undertaking – for which he was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross medal.Sean added: "It is an award for bravery – not just to say 'I was there.' But the bit that interested me the most was not his operational career – but his career in training people."If you read biographies from the war of pilots or air crew, that element is often dismissed within a couple of pages. They're there for a few weeks then they move on. But if you are the person who is going up in the air day in, day out, with novice pilots, novice flight engineers, it's bloody terrifying."