Maplebeck residents and Newark Air Cadets gather to remember the crew of a Wellington bomber that crashed in a village field on October 15, 1942

A crowd of nearly 70 people gathered in Maplebeck on Sunday to witness the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the crew of a Wellington bomber that crashed in a village field on October 15, 1942, killing all five young airmen on board.

Unveiling the plaque was the culmination of a labour of love for resident Mrs Barbara Grundy, 71, who found out about the fallen airmen soon after moving to the village 48 years ago.

“It was very satisfying to see the plaque in place and to see so many people from Maplebeck and neighbouring villages attending,” said Mrs Grundy.

“And Newark Air Cadets marched in to the village and formed a guard of honour on either side of the plaque. They did a very good job.”

“It was very satisfying to see the plaque in place and to see so many people attending.”

The five airman, pilot sergeant Vincent Xavier Kirby, 23, navigator sergeant Richard John Fuller, 21, observer sergeant John Llewellyn Lloyd, 22, wireless operator sergeant Edward Alexander McCord, 26, and air gunner sergeant Ivan Raymond Styles, 27, were all serving with the New Zealand Air Force and were on a night training mission when the crash happened.

Mrs Jane Kinnear, who helped with research on the project, gave a short introduction, thanked those attending and acknowledged that the day was the realisation of a long-held dream for Mrs Grundy.

Jane also thanked the Air Cadets for attending, county councillor Mr Bruce Laughton for the grant that paid for the plaque, and Mr Roger Bell, who fixed the plaque in place.

Mrs Grundy gave an address encouraging those present to commemorate any other air crash crew in their villages, a task she felt passionately about.

Canon Eddie Neale gave a short vote of thanks to Barbara for her research and her work it bringing this to the village for posterity. He then gave a considered blessing, naming each of the fallen air crew, in which he praised them for their contribution to the second world war and their ultimate sacrifice.

He also remembered that Maplebeck was one of only a few Thankful Villages in the UK, meaning that all village personnel in both world wars came home. Now the village has been able to give thanks and remember those from elsewhere who died within the parish.

A second plaque is to be installed at a later date by a pathway close to the actual site of the crash.