A Second World War spy pilot whose death had mystified historians for more than 50 years, will finally be buried with full military honours

The body of North-East-born Wing Commander Adrian Warburton DSO DFC was found in December when the wreckage of his Lockheed F-5 Lightning was discovered in the village of Egling an der Paar, 30 miles north of Munich, Germany.

The 26-year-old, from Middlesbrough, disappeared after taking off from RAF Mount Farm, in Oxfordshire, on April 12, 1944, while on a reconnaissance mission.

His job was to take aerial pictures to highlight enemy positions but he failed to meet up with comrades at an American air base in Sardinia.

Next Wednesday, nearly six decades later, his widow, Eileen, who emigrated to Australia after his death, will say a final goodbye to the highly decorated airman.

"When a downed aircraft and its crew are buried with dignity it helps to close a chapter in British military history and enables the family to come to terms with their loss," said an RAF spokesman.

"This is important to all those who served during the two world wars, those who survived and the families of those who did not.

"Wing Commander Adrian Warburton is a highly decorated, brave pilot - the same honour and respect is shown to all those who never came back and those whose fate is still unknown.

"It is fitting that his family and colleagues can now, after 60 years, finally see him laid to rest and draw a line under all the years of uncertainty."

The memorial service will take place at Pfarrkirche St Agidus, Gmund, near Munich, and will be followed by a burial at nearby Durnbach Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

Members of the Queen's Squadron of the Royal Air Force will lead the procession, while a bugler will sound The Last Post and piper will play a lament.

Air Marshal Sir Roderick Goodall will represent the RAF, with Squadron Leader Alan Coates conducting the funeral service.

Wg Cdr Warburton, or Warby as he was known to his friends, was so highly regarded for his daring aerial antics during the war, he inspired the 1953 film The Malta Story, in which movie legend Alec Guinness played the pilot.

He was christened on board a submarine in the harbour of the Mediterranean island after his birth on Teesside, in 1918, because he was the son of naval Commander George Warburton DSO RN.

There is a section of the Maltese museum dedicated to him for his efforts to keep the island free of Nazi occupation during Second World War.