OLYMPIC FEVER sweeping the nation has jogged the memory of a former Harlington Scout, who was a flagbearer during the last Olympics held in London.

Mike Lovejoy, now 81, was 17 and a member of the 1st Harlington group when he carried a flag during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1948 games in the old Wembley Stadium.

Having answered a call for volunteers, he says he did not know at the time what he was signing up for. “Someone official from Middlesex county came and asked for volunteers,” he said.

“The main criteria was that we had to be tall, over 16 years old, and have a smart uniform, but we didn’t know what we would be doing. Me and three friends put our hands up.”

After going through several dry-runs at a sports ground in Acton, the group were summoned to Wembley Stadium on July 27.

Mr Lovejoy, a member of the Hayes and Harlington Scout Fellowship. recalls: “We took the bus straight from Hayes station to the stadium. After meeting up with an organiser, I had to carry the Malta flag and gather all of their team together. They had just three athletes and two officials.

“We stood there waiting for a few hours, before someone official-looking told us to keep in line. We then walked slowly into the stadium and on to the track. We could hear a lot of cheering.”

His party filed in and stopped near King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in the royal box.

Mr Lovejoy repeated his role at the closing ceremony. He said of his memories: “We didn’t have TV and none of us had really heard of the Olympics, so it wasn’t until later we realised what we had been part of.

“It was a long time ago, but it is funny how it all comes flooding back,” added Mr Lovejoy, who now lives in Old Windsor. “I remember it well, but at the time we didn’t think anything of it.”

Years later, Mr Lovejoy was given one of the torches used in the 1948 relay by a friend who had converted it into a lamp.

He brought it to the 1st Harlington Scouts parade at North Hyde Road yesterday as the 2012 torch relay entered the borough.