Last surviving Czech RAF pilot Emil Boček dies at 100

General Emil Boček, the last living Czech airman who served in Britain’s RAF during WWII, died on Saturday at the age of 100.

The veteran pilot served with the RAF’s 312 and 310 squadrons and participated in over two dozen operational flights. After the war, he was persecuted by the communist regime and was only recognized and awarded for his services after the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

He received many awards including the highest Czech state distinction Order of the White Lion. Emil Boček had lived in the town of his birth, Brno, where he was an honorary citizen.