Memorial service for Peterborough RAF serviceman who was missing in action for 80 years

A memorial service marking 80 years since the disappearance of an RAF serviceman from Peterborough will take place in November.

Windsor Francis Richard Webb, who was born in 1924 and lived on New Road, was 18 years old when he went missing.

The aircraft he and seven other members of the 207 ‘Lancaster Bomber’ Squadron were in disappeared without trace during the Second World War.

The crew, which was made up of British, American and Canadian servicemen, had previously been missing in action for almost 80 years.

But the efforts of their families, and an American research group, made a dramatic discovery earlier this year.

They found that all eight men were killed in action when the aircraft was shot down by a German fighter on a bombing raid to Haselunne, Germany, on November 25, 1942.

“The memorial service will take place at RAF Langar, in Nottingham, at 3pm on November 25, which is exactly 80 years to the minute that they took off from RAF Langar for what was to be their final mission,” Bill Webb, Windsor’s first cousin once removed, said.

“The 207 Squadron is still operational and is now based at RAF Marham, in Norfolk. We’ve been in touch with them and they are providing their chaplain for the service as well as serving personnel.

"The main service will take place in the control tower, where we will begin the service with background and history about the 207 Squadron and the eight men that were lost.

"We will later move outside to the 207 memorial at RAF Langer, where we will lay wreaths and listen to The Last Post.

"Representatives from all of the members of the crew will be in attendance, as well as representatives from The King’s (The Cathedral) School Peterborough and Stamford School, where Windsor went to school.”

The families of the men used access to operational flight details from RAF records in the UK National Archive and Luftwaffe records from Bundesarchiv to uncover that the aircraft was shot down by a German Luftwaffe fighter before crashing into the North Sea 40 miles from the town of Bergen aan Zee, off the coast of the Netherlands.

“We will be able to finally recognise and commemorate what they did,” Bill said. “After being missing in action for 80 years, for the families it will bring some closure as to what happened to the men.

“We’ve all been very committed and there has been a huge amount of effort go in to coordinating the service and bringing all of the families together.”