In 1940, 2,936 pilots took part in a frantic battle against the German Luftwaffe. Joe Willis pays tribute to a North Yorkshire fighter ace

Winston Churchill hailed them as "the few" and famously said of their sacrifices: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many, to so few."

They came from all walks of life to answer their country's call for RAF pilots in the summer of 1940 when Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany.

Their stand against the might of the German Luffwaffe became known as the Battle of Britain and their victory changed the course of history.

The battle lasted nearly four months and 544 Allied pilots lost their lives.

Flight Sergeant Clive Geoffrey Hilken was one of the lucky ones - despite being shot down three times.

Mr Hilken, of Richmond, North Yorkshire, who died on Thursday aged 85, joined the RAF in 1939 when he was 19.

Five days after being posted to 74 Squadron at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, in August 1940, he tasted his first action.

The Squadron were known as the Flying Tigers because of their crest, which depicts a tiger's head. Their motto was: "I Fear No Man."

By the time Mr Hilken was posted to the squadron, the Battle of Britain was in full swing and the Tigers were in the thick of the fighting. His Spitfire was shot down over Tonbridge, in Kent, during his first dogfight.

After parachuting into an orchard, the pilot was confronted by a farmer armed with a shotgun who thought he was a German.

He returned to the squadron in 1941 after time in hospital to have shrapnel removed. Several months later he was again shot down by a Messerschmitt, while on patrol over Maidstone, Kent.

This time he was not badly injured and was back flying within weeks.

After six successful sorties over mainland Europe, the pilot was again forced to bail out after being attacked over France while on a fighter sweep over St Omer.

Badly wounded, he landed in a field and was just about to be rescued by French villagers when he was set upon by enemy soldiers.

He spent the rest of the war in hospital and then German prisoner of war camps.

Bill Bond, founder of the Battle of Britain Historical Society, said Mr Hilken and the other RAF pilots of the Second World War had changed the course of world history. "Had the Battle of Britain been lost it would have been the end of democracy," he said.

"Clive and his 3,000 companions who fought in the Battle of Britain were all that stood between us and total defeat.

"They were the salt of the earth who never claimed to be superheroes - however, that is exactly what they were."

Mr Hilken's daughter, Vanessa Parkington, said the pilot did not consider himself a hero.

"He was a friendly and amiable man who we were very proud of," she said.

After the war, Mr Hilken became headteacher of the school at RAF Geilenkirchen, in Germany, and then Le Cateau Junior School, at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire.

Mr Hilken died of bronchial pneumonia and heart failure. He leaves a wife Nesta, daughters Vanessa and Deborah, and grandchildren Matthew, Joseph and Trevor.

Mr Hilken's funeral will be held tomorrow at Darlington Crematorium , at 10.15am.