A LLANDEGLA RAF man and first time skier was lucky to make it back home after braving the winter in Norway.

Senior Aircraftman (SAC) Allan Dillon, 48, a support technician for NEC Europe and the RAF reserves recently visited the country to learn winter survival skills - only to narrowly make a flight back to Manchester after cancellations due to heavy snowfall.

The former Ysgol Maes Garmon pupil joined 50 other RAF Reservists on Exercise Wintermarch to learn Nordic skiing, avalanche survival techniques and how to deal with extreme cold from members of the Norwegian military.

SAC Dillon, who is part of Number 600 Squadron based at Northolt in Middlesex, said: "I joined up for different challenges like coming out to Norway. I've really enjoyed it - it's been fun and a physical challenge.

"I’d never skied before coming here but the instructors are really knowledgeable and friendly and they spend as long as they need to with you to get the technique right."

The airmen and women of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force were based at Rjukan, 100 miles north of the capital Oslo. The town is also the site of the wartime Telemark Raid which saw saboteurs dropped by the RAF destroy a factory making vital parts for the Nazi effort to build an atomic bomb.

The students learned more about the operation, with a talk from a close friend of one of the saboteurs, and a visit to the museum built on the site of the raid.

For Norwegians the Telemark Raid holds a similar place as the Battle of Britain as their finest hour of World War Two.

After leaving behind thick snow in Norway, they were lucky to get home after the UK too had heavy snowfall on the weekend they returned and many flights were cancelled.

Joining SAC Dillon on the expedition was fellow Denbighshire reservist, SAC Jared Dore of Prestatyn who works in Flight Operations for the RAF.

SAC Dillon added: "It was fascinating to hear the story about the Telemark Operation - it shows how people pushed themselves to do to get the job done.”

"It’s like having a second family being in the RAF. Especially on an exercise like this even when you don’t know people they help you out.”