The plane was piloted by Royal Canadian Air Force Sgt Russell Avey
and came down on March 5, 1943 with only one survivor.
Nine members
of Mr Avey's family from Canada were among relatives of the dead servicemen to
attend a service to mark the dedication of the memorial at St Helen's Church,
in Plungar, this Saturday.
The Lancaster was returning to its base in
Grimsby when it diverted to try to land at nearby Langar airfield because of
poor weather. But the aircraft crashed close to the village, killing six of its
crew, including two Canadians, one Barbadian and three British servicemen. Sgt
DS Davies was the only survivor.
The granite memorial bears a plaque containing
the names of the men who died and the surviving crew member. It is placed
alongside the Grantham canal, near the village.
For more information see http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Villagers-remember-bomber-crash-crew/story-16980446-detail/story.html
by Matthew Sibson
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