A relative of a World War II hero killed in a bombing raid in Germany has spoken of her pride after she was tracked down and informed a memorial had been unveiled at the crash site.
RAF Flight Sergeant Frederick Wall died in March 1945 when his Lancaster Bomber was shot down while attacking an oil plant at Salzbergen.
The family of Sergeant Wall was finally tracked down after a worldwide appeal by Sutton Council in south London managed to find his cousin.
Ninety-six-year-old Alice Perkins was traced and told a memorial has been unveiled at the crash site in honour of her cousin and his comrades. Ms Perkins, who lives in Sutton, said: “I was touched to hear they were honoured in such a way.
“I remember clearly being with Fred at a party shortly before his last flight and he mentioned that he ‘better enjoy himself as it might be his last chance’.”
All seven crew members on board were killed. They were temporarily buried at the crash site before being moved to the British Reichswald War Cemetery near Kleve.
Authorities in Germany organised for a memorial to be unveiled at the crash site to honour the men’s sacrifice but could find little trace of Sergeant Wall’s family.
They contacted Sutton Council, who launched an appeal for information. It led Alice Perkins’ son Graham to contact the council as well as the discovery of the final photograph of the crew. Information was also received from sources in the USA and Canada.
Councillor Ruth Dombey, deputy leader of Sutton Council, said: “I’m really glad that we have been able to find his relatives. It was a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack situation, but thanks to a lot of hard work and some luck, Sergeant Wall’s family now know about the memorial which honours the great sacrifice that he made for his country.”
Sutton Council’s archive staff discovered that Sergeant Wall, who was aged 29 when he died, was a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Unit 514 Squadron.
The plane was an Avro Lancaster Mk III which took off from Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire.
Newspaper reports said 119 Lancasters of No. 3 Group, accompanied by RAF Mustangs and Spitfires, attacked the Wintershall oil refinery north-west of Munster in broad daylight.
After the attack “volumes of thick black smoke were seen rising above the clouds”.
Sergeant Wall’s was the only one of the Lancasters to be lost.
He is buried in grave 13.E.7 at the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany.