His family moved to Manchester when he was 16, and he attended Eccles Secondary (grammar) School where he was awarded an art prize for a drawing of an aeroplane.

After taking the School Certificate in 1937 he started work at the District Bank in Gorton while training to be a pilot with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).

Neil joined the RAFVR on 17 October 1938 at the age of 18 and was called up to full-time service at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Neil recalled that the 12 Hurricanes in the squadron were permanently ready to scramble and that the pilots were simply instructed to shoot down as many enemy aircraft as possible and avoid getting shot themselves.

Neil flew 141 combat missions during the Battle of Britain but his only serious mishap was on 7 November 1940 when he had a mid-air collision with another Hurricane and lost the rear section of his aircraft.

The squadron flew to Ta' Qali on 21 May to take part in the Battle of Malta and he shot down a Macchi C.200 fighter on 12 June 1941.

[8] He returned to Great Britain in 1967, settling in Norfolk where he became a director in the shoe industry, and later became secretary of his local Chamber of commerce.