Michael Roberts, of Tan y Bryn, Acrefair, has pieced together a number of key facts about a wartime plane crash in Rhosymedre in which two pilots died.

The story has passed into local folklore, but few details were known about the victims, with speculation rife about how many perished on the night of September 5, 1943, and their nationalities.

Michael has spent months unravelling the mystery, and has uncovered a tale of selflessness in the face of disaster.

He said: "I had always heard the story from my mother as I was growing up. It happened just over the wall from the house where I grew up, and I always thought that one day I would look into it. So many people have wondered about it, but because it was wartime, the details could not be released. There were lots of rumours, but as far as I am aware, nobody ever knew for sure."

Determined to get to the bottom of the story, Michael began painstaking research and made a number of visits to the crash site in Wynnstay Park, where he was amazed to find artefacts from the plane still on the ground such as a button from one of the pilot's uniforms, and bits of the sticks and dials from inside the plane.

Through his research, Michael has tracked down the names of both pilots. They were New Zealander Walter Lauder, 22, and a Frenchman known only as Sgt B Pereaux.

The button Michael found was from Lauder's uniform, and he was able to return it to the pilot's family.

At the time of the crash the two men were on a low-flying exercise, heading for RAF Shawbury, when the engine failed over Rhosymedre.

Michael said: "They were both heroes. A lot of people witnessed the plane coming down, and one I have spoken to told me how they saw the pilots in the window waving at people to tell them to move out of the way. They were selfless. Even though they knew the plane was going down, it seems they steered it away from people as much as they could. It was right next to the village, so without their actions, it could have been so much worse."

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