Two friends have completed a 72-mile walk in memory of the crew of a Wellington bomber that crashed during the Second World War.
Karen Todd and Sharon Pearson, who are members of the Huddersfield branch of the Royal Air Force Association, raised more than £1,300 for the RAFA benevolent fund with their five-day trek recalling the lost crew of Flight Z1327 who were killed when their plane crashed into a cottage near Farnley Tyas in February, 1942.
The walk, which also marked the 70th anniversary of the local RAFA branch, started with a blessing for the vicar at Holme on Spalding Moor, where the crew were buried. Karen and Sharon also visited RAF Breighton near Selby, where the bomber was based, and walked via Pontefract, Castleford and Wakefield to St George’s Square in Huddersfield.
Sharon said: “We were exhausted but delighted by the reception and assistance we received en route. The weather ranged from bright sunshine to heavy rain, but the result made it all worthwhile.”
As well as handing over a cheque to representatives of RAFA, Karen, 52, of Hinchliffe Mill, and Sharon, 55, of Honley, received on behalf of the branch a framed drawing of the doomed crew standing by their aircraft by Keith Wrigglesworth, of Highburton, who recalls the accident vividly.
He said: “I was lucky, as a young air cadet, to have a number of flights in the Wellington in the early 50s and have drawn and painted it a number of times as it remains one of my favourite aircraft.
“Many years ago, I visited the cottage where this particular aircraft crashed and since then have flown myself for almost 400 happy hours in a small single seat homebuilt aircraft from Breighton no less, where the aircraft was based.”
