AN AIRMAN who was killed in action on his first bombing mission during the Second World War is to be honoured on a new memorial at the crash site.

Sergeant Ronald Heslop, 20, of Meadow Avenue, Blackhall, east Durham, perished when his Lancaster was shot down over Holland on its way to bomb the Krupp factories in Essen, Germany, on March 12, 1943.

Among the family members attending an unveiling ceremony, after being traced with the help of the Blackhall Local History Group, is Sgt Heslop’s brother, Peter – born a year after his death. Mr Heslop, 75, of Goathland, North Yorkshire, said: “I know my brother’s death upset my mum and dad a lot. I still remember them mourning him quite late into my life.

“He had made a impression on life. He had worked hard and was the ideal son for them, so he was a great loss to them. They only had good things to say about him.”

He added: “This is the first time I am going over. My elder brother, Raymond, has been to his grave at the Jonkerbos War Cemetery. I think it's wonderful they have decided to memorialise it.”

Sgt Heslop, the eldest child of William and Beatrice Heslop, worked in the office at South Durham Steelworks. His father worked at Blackhall Colliery and was a well known preacher from Hesleden Road Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Sgt Heslop volunteered for the RAF aged 18 and after initial training was posted to 50 Squadron Bomber Command as a Sergeant Air-Bomber.

He was on his first mission when his Lancaster ED449 was shot down by Oberleutnant Manfred Meurer, who downed four Allied bombers flying a Messerschmitt 110 night fighter. All seven crew members were killed and buried in Holland.

A group called Planehunters Recovery Team last year discovered fire-damaged parts of the aircraft in Nieuw Bergen, confirming eyewitness accounts of the crash.

To honour all Allied crew members who died in all crashes in the Bergen municipality, a monument will be unveiled at the site of Sgt Heslop’s crash on Wednesday, March 4.

Blackhall Local History Group secretary, Edwina McGarry said: “In order to unveil the memorial the the Planehunters needed to trace family members.

“Thankfully one of the men who was a founder member of our group, Keith Hetherington, was a friend of the Heslop family and could give us a lead, as they had moved to Southampton. The group also asked if we could find the family of a Sergeant R Wilson of Sunderland, but we drew a blank on that.”

She added: “Sgt Heslop was a young man from our village who gave his life for King and country and I think that it is fitting that he is being remembered in this way.”

His story is included in the book, Blackhall Heroes: Second World War, available at £5 by contacting 07931 710148.