A MAN who struck up a long distance friendship with a Canadian seaman is seeking to return an account of the latter’s wartime experiences to him or his family.

Boat enthusiast, Barry Henderson, from Newton Aycliffe, first met Cyril Foster in the early 1990s, when he saw his name on a plaque chronicling the fate of Canadian Merchant navy vessels during the Second World War.

Keen to discover more, he tracked down an address and phone number for the Canadian veteran in Newfoundland and so began an infrequent but meaningful correspondence that lasted just over a decade.

In 2003, Mr Foster, who served as a radio wireless officer during the war, sent over a series of documents detailing his in-depth research into Canadian war vessels

He also sent an account written of his first voyage in December 1943 aboard the Admiralty Tug SS Cumco.

Entitled Memoirs of a Wild Week at Sea, the account was written for Mr Foster’s grandson, Bryan Keith Foster.

Mr Henderson, 74, said: “We are having a clear out and I came across the documents. I have lost touch with Cyril now and it seems a shame for them to be packed away.

“I thought he or his family may want them back or perhaps they would be of interest to a museum.”

Mr Henderson can be contacted on 01325-315823.