A WARTIME RAF navigator from Hereford has been flown to Yorkshire for a reunion he never thought would happen.

When Kenneth Smith was serving with an RAF bomber crew based at Breinton, in the north of England, his wife went with him and worked at a nearby farm.

Kenneth, now aged 84, and his wife Norma, who sadly died at the age of 81 last year, became firm friends with the Yorkshire farming family.

But it all ended on a February night in 1944 when the Halifax bomber in which Kenneth was a navigator was shot down in a raid deep over Germany.

With Kenneth a prisoner in the notorious Stalag Luft 3 camp, Norma returned to Hereford.

Kenneth was at the camp in March 1943 and assisted in the break-out that provided the basis for the film The Great Escape.

After the war, the couple lived in Hereford but stayed in contact with the Buttle family in Yorkshire by occasional letter and Christmas cards.

"Not long ago, I heard from Kate who is the one surviving daughter of the family. She is aged 95 and suggested that perhaps we should meet up before it was too late," said Kenneth, who lives in Broomy Hill.

The prospect of a long drive to North Yorkshire was daunting but flyers from Shobdon aerodrome got to hear about the reunion and agreed to fly Kenneth to his tearful reunion. "I had not seen Kate since that February night when I left on that fateful bombing mission more than 62 years ago. It was a very special day and thanks to Shobdon I had my own private flight to Yorkshire and back," he added.

"My only sadness is that Norma was not able to make the trip with me."

Kenneth knows he was luckier than most, having survived more than 20 missions before being shot down and then getting home, despite being detained by the advancing Russians after his prisoner of war camp was abandoned by fleeing Germans.

"Part of my day in Yorkshire included a visit to a memorial to my fallen comrades and that was very special," added Kenneth who stressed his thanks to Noel Mifflin who made the flight possible.