AN RAF veteran who was one of the last Berlin Airlifters has died aged 91.

Wing Commander Tom (Rob) Robinson MBE RAF died on March 18 at Rosedale Nursing Home in Catterick Garrison.

Wg Cdr Robinson had a long, varied and distinguished career in the Royal Air Force. He enlisted in 1941 at 17 at a special recruiting centre in Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.

Following service in the RAF Voluntary Reserve he qualified as a navigator, initially on Lancasters but then moving to transport aircraft.

After the war on June 26, 1948, as a member of 30 Squadron, he flew his first mission into RAF Gatow in Berlin as part of the Berlin Air Lift, the Luftbruckers.

The city had been blockaded by the Russians and the Air Lift kept the city of Berlin supplied with fuel and food, often returning with refugees on board.

By the end of the blockade in October 1949, Wg Cdr Robinson had flown more than 280 sorties into Berlin.

In addition to various postings within the UK, his career took him and his family to Cyprus, Singapore and Norway before his retirement in 1982.

He was awarded the MBE for his service in Cyprus during the EOKA uprising; and in 1998 he returned to Berlin with other veterans as guests of the Berlin authorities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the airlift, where the veterans were treated as returning heroes.

Wg Cdr Robinson was born in Darlington, but raised in Harmby, Leyburn. In 1947 he married Joyce, a wireless operator serving in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.

They were married on November 20, 1947, the same day as the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and celebrated their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries by attending services at Westminster Abbey.

On their 50th anniversary in 1997 they were presented to the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as one of the Golden Couples.

On his retirement, the couple returned to Wensleydale and had a long and happy retirement there, living in Carperby for over 30 years. Mrs Robinson died in November 2015, and she and Wg Cdr Robinson leave two sons, a daughter, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.