THE FAMILY of a Second World War airman from Shotton nicknamed 'Deadshot' were invited to attend a moving memorial at the site where his bomber crashed killing all its crew.

It follows dedicated research by two local historians on opposite sides of the Channel whose research resulted in a lasting memorial being unveiled on the 75th anniversary of the crash.

Born in Liverpool in 1920, Charles Kenneth Fielder was an assistant shopkeeper before enlisting in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1943 to become a gunner on bombers.

He married his sweetheart Geraldine Neville at Shotton on October 28, 1944, but tragically less than five months later he was killed when his Halifax heavy bomber crashed while on route to the German city of Cologne.

75 years and five days to that fateful day, members of the 25-year-old rear gunner's family were invited to the village of Floriffoux in Belgium where the plane went down.

Wendy and Gary Williams, Dawn and Pete Barnes-Williams, and Ian and Pauline Fielder-Shaw, joined local historian Mavis Williams on the trip where they were treated like guests of honour.

Mavis said that the party from Britain were surprised at the scale of the memorial event, with representatives of the Australian and Belgian air forces in attendance as well as the RAF.

Mavis said: "We want to get across how amazing they were and how special they made us feel. The whole of the village came out to take part.

"It was a very moving day. The people of Belgium are so welcoming and they remember the sacrifices our lads made."

Mavis, a resident of Aston originally from Connah’s Quay, has set herself the task of researching those Deeside soldiers of both World Wars named on the War Memorials.

A huge task, so far she has worked on the memorials in the communities of Queensferry, Shotton and Connah’s Quay.

The memorial and trip followed contact made to Mavis via the website www.flintshirewarmemorials.com from Vincent Pécriaux, who was keen to find out more information about Flight Sergeant Fielder and the rest of the crew of Flight NP965.

Mavis was able to send photographs of the wedding of Charles and Geraldine, helping make Vincent's dream of a memorial to the crew a reality.

It was Vincent who discovered Charles was known as "Deadshot" and gained access to the crew's service records, which Mavis has added to the Flintshire War Memorials website.

The website reads: "Nothing is known about what happened next to NP965. No aerial victory was claimed by the Luftwaffe. Maybe was it hit by the flak and did it sustain some major mechanical failure. Still, it headed West, for England. The aircraft lost altitude progressively and it is likely that the crew looked for an airfield to land, an airfield they never reached. Towards the end of the morning, the damaged Halifax crashed at Floriffoux, in a field near an old colliery, leading to the death of all its crew.

"The 2 March 1945 raid on Cologne was the last conducted by Bomber Command on the city that was taken by American troops four days later."

During the trip, Mavis and Flight Sergeant Fielder's relatives were taken to the crash site, the local museum were parts of the excavated aircraft are on display, and the unveiling of the memorial by the mayor.

They also were shown the eye-witness statement from schoolboy Gerard Surin who saw the plane crash.

He said: "We were in the school yard. First we heard a plane that made a strange noise. Then we saw it. It came from above the woods. One of the wheels of the undercarriage was dangling, at least one propeller had been feathered and it trailed smoke. It was losing height and the teacher, Mr Bovy, told us: 'This one is about to crash'.

"We did not wait any longer and, through Emeree Street and the Old Oak, we ran to the place where the aircraft had crashed. When I arrived I saw a cloud of smoke. Then the aircraft began to burn. I came closer but some ammunition started to explode and I moved back. About half an hour later, military trucks came and we were pushed further back.

"The aircraft did not hit any buildings. It had landed straight and level, skimming the fence of the field. I remember the engines with their propellers completely bent. The fuselage was burnt but the flames had only partially damaged the cockpit. One day, I climbed on a wing and reached the cockpit where I sat. I remember seeing the control column and a big lever with a kind of ball on top. The nose of the aircraft had completely disappeared.

"I do not know when the aircraft was taken away but many people took parts of it. The blacksmith, for instance, salvaged a propeller and the local policeman cut off a tyre to make troughs for his hens and pigs."

Flight Sergeant Fielder and his crewmates were buried at Neuville-En-Condroz Military Cemetery in Belgium and then were reburied on January 20, 1947, in Heverlee War Cemetery.

Details about Deeside servicemen is available www.flintshirewarmemorials.com as is information about sharing accounts of family members whose names are on the memorials.