IT WAS a fitting tribute to a fearless flyer.

A surge of pride and emotion went through the hearts of hundreds of people who stood to watch a group of replica First World War planes in the skies over Hampshire.

Flying from different directions, eight planes careered barely a few hundred feet over the heads of the crowds who watched in awe as the planes flew across a gunboat grey sky in East Boldre.

Air aces showed off their skills for 15 minutes as they took part in an aerial dogfight in honour of a former fighter pilot who helped defeat Nazi Germany.

Families cheered with delight and children squealed with pleasure as they saw the mechanical angels weave gracefully in and out of each other’s paths.

For many it sent a shiver down their spines and gave them goose bumps as they thought of those grave few who fought in the Great War in the “flimsy” planes.

Daily Echo: Doug Gregory.

Daily Echo: Doug Gregory in his war time dog fighting days.

It was the climax to a week remembering the hundreds of men and women who bravely signed up to learn how to fly fighter planes before setting off on dangerous aerial missions across Europe.

East Boldre in the New Forest was the location of the training facility for the Royal Flying Corps, later renamed the Royal Air Force.

The event was also a tribute to Second World War veteran Doug Gregory who was killed in a hit-and-run accident last month.

The former Spitfire pilot lost a two-week battle for life at Southampton General Hospital after he suffered serious head injuries in a hit-and-run accident near his home in Blackfield.

The 92-year-old fighter pilot from Blackfield joined the RAF as a teenager and served in almost 50 combat missions across Nazi-occupied Europe.

Described as “a modest hero who was an inspiration to us all”, he also survived a brain haemorrhage in 1947.

Four decades later he built a 1917-style bi-plane and joined the Great War Display Team (GWDT), becoming Britain’s oldest stunt pilot – flying until 2013.

The Doug Gregory Memorial Flight saw three Scout Experimental 5a’s (SE5a’s), a Bleriot Experimental 2c (BE2c) and a Sopwith Triplane, also known as The Tripe, float across the skies against a pair of German Fokker DR1 Triplanes and two Junker CL1 ground attack aircraft.

Moments after the planes left the pretend aerial battlefield, a Last Post sounded in memory of both Doug, and those who served in the First World War.

Daily Echo: Josh Coe 2 and Jamie Burton looking at the planes.

Father of one Matt Cheeseman was one of the many people who made the journey to see the display.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Matt, from Ashurst Bridge, said. “It properly conjures up a good image of what it was like for pilots more than 100 years also.

“It was very emotional, a once-in-a-lifetime event. I probably won’t get to see that again.”

His four-year old son Harry said: “I really liked the big airplanes, I really liked the noisy one. I want to be a pilot when I’m older.”

Emma Stride was with her friends Paul Graves and Emily Pellow among others.

She said: “It was awesome. The atmosphere here was really good with lots of families here to watch it. I think it’s really nice to put on a show for Doug and for the community. I think it’s a lovely thing.”

Organiser of the event Mike Husband said it have been “a great week”.

He said: “I’ve spoken to my family at they just thought it was absolutely wonderful. A lot of people found the display very moving.”