THE nephew of an airman who died in a crash in the Second World War has described the emotional moment he learned of the discovery of his uncle’s long-lost St Christopher medal.

Bernard Henderson came forward after The Northern Echo publicised an appeal by Dutch amateur historians, who were searching for relatives of Sergeant James Bernard Brennan of Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

Sgt Brennan perished when his Lancaster bomber crashed over Oosterhout, in the Netherlands, on July 21 1944,

At the end of the war his mother wrote an impassioned letter to the Dutch authorities asking if his rosary beads and St Christopher medal were found, but was told they had not been.

However, as the 70th anniversary of the crash approaches, a St Christopher was found in the belongings of the only surviving crew member, who died recently.

Mr Henderson, the son of Sgt Brennan’s eldest sister Kathleen, said: “When I saw the photograph of the crew in the newspaper I recognized it immediately. It stirred a lot of memory.

“The same photograph hung in my grandmother house. I was there when the news arrived that my uncle had been killed.

“I remember she was devastated – absolutely heartbroken. James was the youngest of eight children.”

He added: “I know she had tried to get my uncle’s rosary beads and St Christopher back. It was a very sad time.

“She would have been thrilled to hear the medal has been found.

Mr Henderson, 81, of South Pelaw, Chester-le-Street, said he had fleeting memories of his uncle.

He said: “He was always a polite and really nice person.

“I remember him working for Swainston’s butchers in town, delivering meat in a basket on his bike, before he enlisted.

“After his death, we would put poppies underneath his photograph on Remembrance Sundays. He has never been forgotten.”

The navigator, Pilot Officer Alan Hayden was the only person in the seven-man crew to survive the crash.

He made his escape with the help of the Resistance, but was betrayed in Belgium and became a POW.

Mr Hayden of Leatherhead, Surrey, returned to meet members of the Resistance in 1994, when he was given papers and items found at the crash site.

Cees Joosen, who is co-writing a book with Jan Jolie about 11 Allied aircraft which crashed over their town, attended the funeral of Mr Hayden when he died in April.

Mr Hayden’s son gave him an envelope containing Belgium and France “escape money”, compasses, two cotton sheets maps and a St Christopher medal.

Mr Jolie said: “It is amazing how, after all this time, we have managed to trace his family.”