Roger Smith - RIP

28/05/22 14:49

Somewhere around 2005 my wife pointed out a small ad in a British magazine by a fellow, Roger Smith, who was offering to place remembrance notes at Runnymede memorial. Runnymede commemorates by name, over 20,000 men and women of the air forces, who were lost in the Second World War and who have no known graves.

I responded to Roger's ad and soon was getting yearly (or more) emails with photos of printed memorials placed each Remembrance Day, near the name of my Uncle, Wilfred Weber.

These emails continued for many years, until 2022 when his wife sent me an email to tell me that Roger had passed away.

I remember when Roger and I first communicated, he explained that he thought it very important to acknowledge the sacrifices made by non-Brits, defending his country. His death left me feeling like a connection had been broken. But Roger's kindness will never be forgotten by me or my family. I hope someday to visit his resting place and lay a memorial "thank you".

Donald Wager - Found

27/10/17 21:44

Very excited to have made contact with the family of Donald Wager after some extensive sleuthing on the internet. She has now sent me a photo of Donald and some biographical material about him which I have added to this site.

The Art of Simon Smith

27/10/17 21:30

British artist Simon Smith has kindly allowed me to use the image of one of his paintings for the banner to this site, You can see his wonderful art work here: sasmithart.co.uk

Photos from Austrailia

19/10/17 08:06

Thanks to Patricia Boss for sending me some photos of her uncle.

My Uncle's Medals

26/12/14 21:43

A big thank you to Irene Chapman for sending me my uncle's WW II medals. You can see them on this site's landing page.

Thanks to Roger Smith and Michael McInerney

04/04/14 20:58

A big thank you to Roger Smith for his tributes to my uncle and to Michael McInerney for his info about JJ McNally.

Painting of the Plane

23/03/14 20:57

Strange and wonderful things the internet can bring to our doors. Out of nowhere I’ve been contacted by Mark Drinkall, of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Mark is painting a painting a watercolour painting of ME320, my uncle’s plane. I look forward to seeing a picture of it.

Bertie Brydon

16/12/12 20:57

Another big thank you to Joyce Young of the Vernon Historical society who has helped me track down one of the sister of the Bertie Brydon in Armstrong, British Columbia.

John "Jack" McNally

02/06/12 20:54

Thanks to the Tilpa pub in Australia I’ve been able to track down descendants of John McNally. And big thank you to Michael McInerney for all his assistance with this.

Cecil Ebbs

11/11/11 20:52

Big thank you to Anna-Marie Saunders for sending a picture of her Uncle Cecil Ebbs and some words about him. And thanks to John O'Grady for connecting us on the internet!

The Air Forces Memorial

11/10/11 20:45

The spark to get going on the building of this site came from a British magazine called This England which I had bought for my wife. In the magazine she discovered a short article by a fellow named Roger Smith. In the article Roger kindly stated that he was willing to place a tributes for the war dead at the Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede. I had never known that such a memorial existed. I sent Roger an email, we corresponded, and a few days later he sent me a series of photos of the Memorial, including the plaque that held my uncle Wilfred’s name--the internet is an amazing thing! I encourage anyone interested in taking up Roger on his offer to send him an email or write him at r.smith193@btinternet.com, or 6 St Lukes Road , Old Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 2QQ, England.

Searching for Families

10/10/11 20:55

I had the idea for this site sometime ago but it has taken me a while to get around to realizing it. My uncle, Wilfred Weber, whose given name is my middle name, died in a plane crash in the last month of World War ll. It seemed fitting to me to have some kind of memorial web site for him and the men he flew with. My aunt Irene Chapmen (nee Weber) provided me with some photos and stories of Wilf. Roger Smith was kind enough to actually go to the Runnymede cemetery and photograph the grounds and the plaque with my uncle’s name on it. Since I started the site several others have provided me with more information and photos -- thanks to you all!

I’m now trying to gather more information on the crew he flew with. If you have any leads please let me know. Right now I’m trying to find the descendants of various crew members. Right now I’m focussed on Donald Wager. His family lived in Essex, England.