A WARTIME tragedy which claimed the lives of seven young airmen has been remembered in a poignant ceremony.

The men died when their Halifax bomber crashed in Northallerton in 1943, shortly after taking off from Croft on a training mission.

It narrowly missed the Applegarth primary school.

All the airmen on board were killed when their stricken bomber plunged into the ground.

Now a plaque has been unveiled at the school in memory of the men. Among those who attended the ceremony were relatives of the dead.

The event was organised by Dave Morris, from Sowerby, Thirsk, who continued the work started by the late Alan Carter - whose mother and sister were in their home nearby when the crash happened.

"He always thought something should be done to mark the event and I've taken up the baton," he said.

Among those who attended were David Skyrme, his wife Theresa and sister Ann Prior, family of crew member Sergeant Thomas Skyrme, from Wales.

David, born a few months after the sergeant died at the age of just 21, said: "I feel very emotional to be here."