For decades, the family of Royal Canadian Air Force navigator Thomas Ferguson Wilson knew he died during the Second World War, but did not know what happened to him.

Earlier this year, they learned he was one of seven men aboard a Lancaster bomber that crashed over a small village in Lincolnshire, England, due to a malfunction. mechanic on April 10, 1944.

They also learned that since then, the townspeople have honored the four men in a special ceremony.

Ferguson Wilson was the great-uncle of Kitchener resident Laura McBride. He was 26 years old at the time of his death.

McBride’s sister is a researcher who was planning a trip to Europe. When she was deciding where to visit in January, she started posting their uncle’s name online.

“And there she was, she found a (BBC) article from 2016 talking about an annual memorial service held by this very small town in England to commemorate the victims of this plane crash and in the article there was a call for family members to come forward” , McBride explained.

LISTEN | Local family learns about memorial service in England for uncle previously considered MIA after WWII:

The memorial was commissioned by the Lincolnshire Aircraft Recovery Group (LARG) in 2004. T

The group states on its website that its goal is to preserve what is now modern history, as a tribute to those who lost their lives during the war.

“A memorial dedicated to Lancaster ND820 in Bicker, near Boston,” reads the LARG website. “The Memorial was blessed by RAF Padre Coningsby on its 60th anniversary.”

McBride said she often wondered why the war commission had not contacted her, but according to a separate BBC article published in 2014, the LARG is legally not allowed to contact relatives of crew members .

Although 80 years have passed, McBride and his family felt it was important to attend this year’s memorial service.

A commemorative journey

Having made the discovery just weeks before the memorial, McBride and her sister worked quickly to get to Bicker Bar.

“When I found out that this had been happening for 80 years, I felt like they were holding this space for us. They were replacing our family to be there to celebrate and commemorate my uncle and his team,” , McBride said.

Volunteers now work to keep the memorial clean and help organize the annual ceremony.

“The idea of ​​taking this on for other families, I think is so beautiful,” she said.

When the family went to pay their respects to their loved one, McBride says it was a wonderful moment.

They had the opportunity to meet a man and woman who attend the ceremony every year and say they witnessed the accident when they were young.

The family of three other men who died in the crash were also present at this year’s ceremony.

McBride said the volunteers who help maintain the memorial were thrilled to be able to speak up for one of the soldiers.

“We’ve been lost to them for so long that they call us ‘families,’ so they’re just grateful that families are starting to find this monument,” she said.

Although it would be an expensive tradition to try to attend the memorial every year, McBride says she plans to return one day, but is finally at peace knowing how her great-uncle died.

The bodies of six of the soldiers were never found. The area is marked as a Royal Air Force cemetery.

“It is sadly moving to go to the memorial site and realize that six members of the crew are still out there in the fields,” said Boston Coun. Paul Kenny in a BBC article published in March 2014.

However, witnesses to the downed bomber claim to have seen a soldier exit the ship before the crash. This was McBride’s great-uncle, currently buried in Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate.

“Our trip to Bicker Bar was more than just a search for answers. It was a reminder of the power of memory and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed for others,” McBride said.