FAMILIES and relations of an aircrew killed during the second world war gathered at a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a war memorial in Herefordshire.
The ceremony took place at Westhope village on Sunday, September 19.
Westhope resident Helen Theron and her husband bought a weathervane with a Lancaster Bomber on it from a small reclamation site in Epsom, Surrey back in 2009.
After moving to Herefordshire they noticed an engraving on the weathervane, reading JB453 OL-F.
After researching it on the internet, they found that the numbers and letters corresponded to a Lancaster Bomber which was shot down during the Battle of Berlin on January 3, 1944, killing all seven airmen on board.
They were contacted by International Bomber Command who said the weathervane was to become a classified war memorial.
Mr and Mrs Theron managed to trace the relations and descendants of the seven airmen who died, inviting them to attend the unveiling ceremony.
Mrs Theron said tracing the aircrew's relations became a passion project.
The families of Flight Officer William Dyke (bomb aimer), Sergeant Joseph Banks (wireless operator), Sergeant Ernest Stiles (pilot), Sergeant John MacIntyre Dunlop (air gunner), Flying Officer Ian Godfrey Allan (air gunner), Pilot Officer Denis McKendry (navigator) and Flight Sergeant Patrick Traynor (flight engineer) gathered at Holly Cottage in Westhope for the ceremony.
Some had travelled from Canada and Northern Ireland to attend the service.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire, the Mayor of Hereford and representatives of the Royal British Legion also attended.
The service was conducted by Rev. David Wyatt and Rev. Paul Roberts.
Among hymns and readings, family members read out short biographies of their ancestors killed in the fated flight.
The memorial plaque was unveiled by the Lord-Lieutenant. He said the event was a very historic moment.
He said: "It's extraordinarily special to have here so many relations and descendants of the members of the crew that day.
"It's very poignant to hear stories of those incredibly brave airmen. They were very young and very brave."
The service ended with a fly-past of a Spitfire over the new memorial site.
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