LYNEHAM welcomed the return of former hostage Terry Waite last week, to mark 25 years after he was released and returned to the UK.

The now 77-year-old was working as a peace envoy in Lebanon on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury when he was kidnapped in 1987 and spent 1,763 days in captivity, mostly chained and in solitary confinement.

After he was released on November 18, 1991, he was flown into RAF Lyneham where he was given a welcome home by military personnel and the world’s press.

Mr Waite said: “It was raining so we went into the great hangar and there I gave my address, and then went to meet my family.

“It was an emotional occasion, but it also had an amusing side to it.

“When the plane landed Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was late because he'd been held up by traffic.

“On the plane they collected all the paper cups and serviettes in the haste to make the plane tidy and presentable and shoved them in the front toilet, so when Robert ran up the steps late, and said “I must use the loo”, he opened the door and was immediately showered with paper cups and serviettes.

“It was not a dignified entry for the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“It's the amusing things that stick in your mind.”

Wiltshire Times and Gazette and Herald photographer, Glenn Phillips, was one of hundreds to capture the moment of Mr Waite’s return.

“There were hundreds of people from all over the world there,” he said.

“He looked happy when he arrived back in Britain but he looked in a fairly rough state of health, he was very gaunt.

“I think the most memorable moment was being part of an international event, and you had the world’s press and there was the Wiltshire Times.”