WW II pilot's remains found

PO Gordon died in 1940

The remains of a World War II fighter pilot have been discovered in his crashed Spitfire - 63 years after his funeral.

The family of William "Scotty" Gordon are now deciding what to do after a number of bones were found in the plane in a field in Hailsham, Sussex.

Pilot Officer Gordon was 20 when he died in battle over the Sussex Downs in September 1940.

Part of his body was returned to his family in Dufftown, Moray, and he was buried in the local cemetery at Mortlach Church.

But on Saturday archaeologists found skeletal remnants inside the aircraft when it was unearthed in the farmer's field.

The team, which was given permission to dig up the wreckage by the Ministry of Defence, immediately contacted the police and the bones were taken to the coroner's office.

An MoD spokesman said Mr Gordon' s surviving relatives were traced and informed of the find and are now deciding whether to bury the remains with the rest of the airman's body.

The discovery of additional human remains after a body has been discovered is not unheard of

MoD spokesman

Mr Gordon's immediate family - his parents and four sisters - have all died but he has a nephew in the Inverurie area of Aberdeenshire.

The MoD spokesman said: "Given the catastrophic forces generated by an aircraft crashing, the discovery of additional human remains after a body has been discovered - especially when the crash is in a marshy area - is not unheard of."

Mr Gordon is known as a war hero in his home town of Dufftown, which has a population of 1,700.

In May a plaque was put up in his honour at Mortlach Junior School where he was a pupil.

His name is also engraved on the town's war memorial.

The Rev Hugh Smith, from Mortlach Church, said he imagined they would have some sort of service if the remains were returned to Scotland.