Wartime pilot to be laid to rest

Sgt Carmichael's plane was shot down in 1943

The family of a Second World War Spitfire pilot are to lay him to rest 60 years after his death.

Sgt John Carmichael, who was known as Ian, from Dundee, was only 20 when he was shot down over Flanders in 1943 after returning from a mission accompanying US bombers.

His remains and the location of his ditched aircraft remained unknown until last year, when developers uncovered his Spitfire aircraft hidden in marshland.

The aircraft is believed to have been shot down at 20,000ft, hitting the ground with such force that it was effectively buried.

An appeal was launched to trace the pilot's relatives and they are now set to attend a funeral service later this week.

My brothers, who were in the war themselves, were delighted when they heard because it was very upsetting not knowing where his body was Sgt Carmichael's cousin

Sgt Carmichael's cousin Mary "Bunty" McQuade, 82, said the missing airman's late mother Caroline had cleaned and dusted a picture of him every day since his loss.

She said: "Carrie died about 12 years ago but she would have been very happy today if she had been alive to know that his body was recovered from the marshes.

"My brothers, who were in the war themselves, were delighted when they heard because it was very upsetting not knowing where his body was.

"Ian was just like any other young lad. Full of fun and could be getting into trouble at home.

"Being an only child, he enjoyed coming to visit us because he had my brothers to play with.

"I am so glad he's going to have a resting place - a dry grave instead of a wet one."

Full military honours

Mrs McQuade will attend the funeral along with her sister-in-law Winifred.

Sergeant Carmichael will be buried with full military honours on Friday - exactly 60 years after he was shot down.

Members of the RAF's Queen's Colour Squadron, who carried the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales, will act as bearers during the ceremony at Coxyde Military Cemetery near Veurne, and a fly-past by Tornado jets is also planned.

RAF chiefs said the discovery, which was made in September last year, had also sparked a nationwide hunt by Australian media anxious to trace the fiancee of the missing pilot.

Relatives recalled Sgt Carmichael had been engaged to marry a London nurse, known only by her first name Geraldine, who moved to Australia once the conflict ended and lost touch with the pilot's family.

Among the items that had been buried with the pilot for 60 years were a receipt for a diamond and gold engagement ring and a post office book with a four-leafed clover preserved within the pages.