JOHN Boyes was just four years old on November 24, 1944 when his mother was putting him to bed at his grandparents' house in Sedgefield, County Durham.

He remembers that it was the blackout. There was an almighty flash of light, and a bang, and he was aware that there was a fire.

It was not until the following day that he saw the wreckage of a Lancaster bomber, which had come down in a field a mile-and-a-half away.

Mr Boyes said yesterday: "The site was partly sealed off by the police and RAF personnel. They were bringing the bodies out on a lorry."

Ever since, he has often wondered about how the plane came to crash, who was flying it and where the crew were from.

The answer came through his job. He works as a signal engineer on the railways and met Stephen Shields, who was a signalman at Ferryhill, in 1980.

They had no idea that they shared an interest in the Second World War until four years ago, when the wreckage of a Nazi bomber was excavated near South Bank railway station, in Middlesbrough.

It was then that Mr Boyes found out that Mr Shields is secretary of the Bomber Command Association No 5 Group Sunderland.

His work with the group has enabled him to interview war veterans and collect a range of documents associated with the war.

But it was not until a few weeks ago that Mr Boyes mentioned his curiosity about the plane crash near his childhood home, 57 years earlier.

Mr Shields said: "John said he was never sure where the crew came from, although he thought they were Canadian.

"So I said I could tell him exactly where the bomber crew came from, as I have all the documents relating to the crash, as well as a piece of the wreckage."

Mr Boyes said: "I never knew Steve kept these accident reports and could not believe it when he said he had all this information."

The casualty record from the crash reveals that the seven crew members, who all died, were from the Royal Canadian Air Force, although the rear gunner, 19-year-old JJ Murphy, was from the United States.

The pilot, RG Mansfield, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was the oldest, at 27.

The others included navigator GH Warren-Darley, air bomber AC Hirst, 22, wireless operator DA Gunn, 20, flight engineer DG Newland and second gunner LW Toth, 27.

The plane set off from Middleton St George, now Teesside Airport, for a training exercise over Bradbury bombing range when the accident happened, at 6.23pm, at Sands Farm.

The fuel jettison system did not operate properly, resulting in the Lancaster's fuselage filling with fuel, which was ignited either by someone smoking or hot exhaust gases.

Mr Boyes said: "It is history coming back to me. What has struck home most of all is this is all on just four sheets of paper; the lives and operations of seven men dismissed in a short report, and that is it.

"It is something that has stuck in my mind for over 50 years. It was probably my closest encounter with the war. This has brought it all back."

Mr Boyes would be interested to find out whether anyone else remembers the crash.

A list of witnesses to the accident includes Mr R and Mr T Walton, Mr J Banks, Mr J Carr, Mr C Denton and Mrs R Wright.

Anyone with information is asked to contact The Northern Echo, on (01325) 381313