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10:42 GMT, Thursday, 16 October 2008 11:42 UK

WWII pilot buried after 64 years

Halifax bomber

A British airman will be buried with full military honours 64 years after being killed in a raid over Berlin.

Flt Lt John Bremner died aged 21 alongside three other men when their Halifax bomber, from RAF Pocklington near York, was shot down in 1944.

His remains were not found until 2006 when one of the surviving members of the crew, former Pilot Officer Reg Wilson, uncovered the crash site.

Flt Lt Bremner will be buried at the Heerstrasse War Cemetery in Berlin.

His remains will join those of his former comrades Flt Lt Eric Church and Sgt Kenneth Stanbridge.

Metal detectors

Flt Lt Bremner's Halifax was hit shortly after releasing its bombs.

Four crew members managed to bail out and parachute to safety before it exploded and crashed into woodland at Hirschgarten Friedrichshagen on the outskirts of Berlin. They were then taken prisoners of war.

Mr Wilson travelled to Berlin in 2005 with his daughter to meet local historians and witnesses to the plane's demise.

The pair returned the following year and, with the help of a team of volunteers using metal detectors, eventually discovered the wreckage.

Within it were the remains of Flt Lt Bremner but those of the fourth victim, gunner Warrant Officer Charles Dupueis, were nowhere to be found.

The burial service on Thursday will be witnessed by two of the surviving crew members, Mr Wilson, from Chigwell, Essex, and John Bushell, a sergeant on the aircraft, from Oakley, Bedfordshire, as well as family members of the other crew.



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Related to this story:
Search for WWII airman's family (08 Feb 07 |  England )
WW II pilot's remains found (03 Jun 03 |  Southern Counties )
Hero's family found (16 Sep 98 |  UK News )

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