'Six Medals' Warburton was born in Middlesbrough, the son of a submarine commander. Warburton joined the RAFVR in 1938 and was eventually posted to Malta in 1940. There he made his reputation as a daring photographic reconnaissance pilot. In November 1940 he became famous as the man who photographed the Italian fleet at Taranto from fifty feet. He thrived during the siege of Malta, when dress conventions were dropped and he wore an army battledress blouse, cravat, a pair of Oxford bags and a threadbare RAF cap. He also wore a revolver at his waist and a knife in his army desert boots. While in Malta, Warburton formed a glamorous relationship with a cabaret singer, Christina.

He rose to the rank of wing commander, but was a friendly man and really rather shy, by contrast with his ruthless daring in the air. He was liked by American flyers because of his unstuffy, informal manner. In the film 'Malta Story', Warburton is played by Alec Guinness, and dies when shot down over the Mediterranean. In actual fact, Warburton was grounded after a serious road accident. He disappeared during a flight from Oxfordshire to Italy in 1944. It was not until 2002 that his American Lightning was discovered in a German field. This gave rise to a TV documentary.