SEVEN airmen who died 61 years ago when their Stirling bomber crashed at Cliffe, near Rochester, are to have a memorial in the local churchyard.

Also remembered will be young mother Lillian McPherson, who is thought to have died of shock when the bomber ploughed through her cottage. Her two-month old baby was unhurt.

Behind the scheme is Brian Arnold, of Green Lane, Cliffe, who is a nephew of the woman who was killed.

"A group of us decided it was time that the airmen had a proper memorial," he said. "We need to raise about £1000."

To help raise the money, Brian will host an event at the Memorial Hall, Cliffe, as "Mo Meadows", a role he has created to give performances as a countryside comedian, throughout Kent.

In addition to telling jokes, he will be recounting stories of local characters and events, including the story of the Stirling bomber, which crashed on a farm at Rye Street not far from the village.

The aircraft was one of nine from Lakenheath, Norfolk, which set out on October 23 1942 to bomb the north Italian city of Genoa. It reached its target, but ran out of fuel on the return journey just 20 minutes away from its base.

As it came down, the plane demolished cottages and a farmhouse, and crashed in a field nearby. No-one was injured in the farmhouse, but Delia Bradford formerly Delia Batchelor who lived there with her family, has vivid memories of the crash.

She was trapped in her bedroom and was eventually carried to safety down a ladder by a local fireman John Parnell.

The fund-raising afternoon presented by Brian Arnold is on Saturday, September 13, starting at 3pm. Tickets are £3 and can be obtained from Freda Frost, 2 Manor Farm Cottages, West Street, Cliffe.