"Tomáš Lom, a Czech veteran of World War II who served in Britain’s Royal Air Force, died on Wednesday, just weeks ahead of his 97th birthday. As one of this country’s last RAF airmen, his passing was marked by the government with a moment of silence, and Lom is to be buried with military honours. Tomáš Lom was born in 1924 into a Jewish family by the name of Löwenstein, who managed to flee Czechoslovakia just days before the German occupation and settled in the UK. He signed up for the British Army the moment he came of age, but later requested a transfer to the fabled 311th Czechoslovak Squadron of the RAF. “I was 18 years of age and reported to the Czech Embassy for service because I was very keen on teaching the Germans a lesson. “I wanted to be in the air force, but the Embassy put me into the army depot at Cholmondeley. There I did army service and took every opportunity to demand to be transferred to the air force.”" In memoriam: Czech wartime RAF veteran Tomáš Lom
