Pilot's heroism honoured in name of housing estate

From the darkened skies above his bedroom window, a Halifax bomber came hurtling into view.

The most terrible noise shattered the peace - and the aircraft began plummeting to earth.

Transfixed, Mr Mitcheson, then a boy of 11, held his breath for a few seconds until a rumbling explosion shook the foundations of his home.

Although he did not realise it, Mr Mitcheson, now 69, of Silksworth, Sunderland, had witnessed one of the most heroic acts of the Second World War.

The Halifax, piloted by 22-year-old Cyril Barton, had set out from Selby, North Yorkshire, for a raid on Nuremberg but, before getting there, had been badly damaged by gunfire.

With an engine and communications failing, three crew members had already baled out when Barton, from Surrey, decided to complete the mission.

He was on his way home, using the stars to navigate, when the aircraft was hit by ill-targeted friendly fire.

With fuel running out, he managed to steer it clear of all but one of the houses in Brick Row, Ryhope, Sunderland, saving the lives of crew members and residents.

In doing so, he sacrificed his own life. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour.

Yesterday, 58 years after the incident, in March 1944, a lasting tribute was paid to the pilot when a housing estate near the crash site was named Barton Park.

Mr Mitcheson, along with Barton's three sisters, his former navigator Len Lambert, and members of his squadron watched RAF Leeming squadron leader Rodney Burgess unveil a plaque.

After campaigning for a tribute for 22 years, Mr Mitcheson said the memorial was a dream come true.

"It is something that has been with me for all these years, and I'm absolutely delighted with it," he said.

Barton's sister, Joyce Voysey, 68, of Surrey, said: "He used to say 'if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well', but he was the last one to expect glory.

"Caring about other people was natural to him. To think that people still remember him after 58 years is amazing."