‘IT isn’t rain, it’s the angels crying,” I heard someone say as we made our way to the spot where we were all to assemble.

It was rain all right, cold rain teeming from a leaden sky on an all too typical North- East July day. But the company didn’t seem to mind. They were warmed by the best speech I have heard in many years from the editor of this newspaper and the sense of common purpose that brought us all there.

Then, as proceedings drew to an end, behind us we heard a kind of growl and we looked up and saw it: a Lancaster bomber flying low from a darkened sky. It is hard to put into words the emotions that sight kindled among the watchers. I only know that it was, and is likely to remain, the most evocative, impressive thing I have ever seen.

These are my memories of the day in 2008 when the statue commemorating the heroism of Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski VC was unveiled at Durham Tees Valley Airport after a four-year campaign organised by The Northern Echo.

They were brought back to me when I read this week of the death of Jimmy Amlin who, with wife Betty, was instrumental in the campaign to honour his fellow Canadian flyer.

I met this remarkable couple at the ceremony and got talking to their son, Edsel, who told me their story and about his father’s war service and involvement in community and charitable work afterwards. This included their tireless efforts to ensure the North-East remembered their friend, Andrew Mynarski.

The Echo reported that Sedgefield came to a standstill for Jimmy Amlin’s funeral.

Like many of his generation, who saw and did extraordinary things, he was a modest man with a sense of duty. Perhaps he would not have anticipated such an outpouring of respect and affection.

It was all merited, of course, and the response of people in Sedgefield and further afield is welcome evidence that we in this region know a hero when we see one.

Doom and gloom is the order of the day at the moment and I certainly don’t underestimate the struggle that many people and organisations are now facing. But when the clouds gather, as on that summer day in 2008, maybe we should remember people such as Jimmy Amlin and Andrew Mynarski and the example they set us. They will help us realise we can create a brighter tomorrow.

MORE memories and another way in which the remarkable past of men and women in our midst continues to inspire.

One advantage of being an elected Mayor is the chance to meet and say thank-you to groups and organisations which do so much for the community. So it was a real pleasure to invite the Cleveland branch of the Association of Wrens to the Town Hall. The branch has more than 20 members, a number of whom were among the 73,000 women who served in the Second World War, and would welcome new faces.

They may be small in number, but they certainly remain active with a busy social calendar and fundraising events for current service charities and the Wrens’ Benevolent Trust and take part in our Remembrance Day Parade in Middlesbrough.

In addition, one member edits the organisation’s magazine, The Wren, which has a worldwide circulation. You can find out more about the organisation’s history and activities on a useful website – wrens.org.uk I enjoyed my time with them. They are another example and inspiration in the hard times ahead.