Ten US WW2 airmen who died in Sheffield 75 years ago while returning from a combat mission have been honoured, thanks to a British man who witnessed their crash as a child and has tended their memorial for decades.
According to eye-witnesses, on 22 February 1944 the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed ‘Mi Amigo’, attempted to land their badly damaged plane in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, to avoid local homes. However, after seeing children playing in the park – including an eight-year-old Tony Foulds – they crashed in nearby woods instead, killing all aboard.
A social media campaign for a flypast began just a few months ago after a chance meeting between BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker and 82-year-old Mr Foulds, who tends a park memorial to the 10 men who saved his life. And on 22 February 2019 thousands of onlookers cheered alongside an emotional Mr Foulds and members of the airmen’s families as a flypast of USAF and RAF planes soared over Endcliffe Park.