Holmes was a journalist, but during World War II he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, where he trained fighter pilots. On Sunday, September 15, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Holmes was flying a Hurricane fighter. He had exhausted his ammunition when he spotted a German bomber heading straight for Buckingham Palace.
“There was no time to weigh up the situation,” he said later. “His airplane looked so flimsy, I didn’t think of it as solid and substantial.” So to save the Palace he rammed the bomber, knocking off its tail, and it crashed near Victoria Station. Both Holmes and the German pilot parachuted to safety. After the war he returned to journalism, covering the courts, and didn’t retire until he was 80. He died June 27 from cancer at 90.