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The son of an RAF gunner whose aircraft is set to be recovered more than 75 years after it vanished has met with a relative he never knew he had – thanks to KentOnline's sister title the Sittingbourne News.
Sgt Leonard Richard James Shrubsall, from Iwade, near Sittingbourne , was one of seven crew members on board the Short Stirling Bomber when it disappeared on the way back from a raid on Germany on March 29, 1943.
The 30-year-old’s wife, Beatrice, was three months pregnant with their first child when she received the telegram to say her husband had failed to return from air operations.
Last month, an article in the Sittingbourne News and on KentOnline told of how Sgt Shrubsall’s son Richard, now 76, had learned the bomber – which was discovered last year – is to be recovered from Lake IJsselmeer in the Netherlands on August 31.
Sgt Shrubsall’s second cousin, Keith Shrubsall, saw the article and got in touch with the newsdesk straight away.
He said: “I recognised Leonard first – I didn’t know I had these family members until I read the paper. It came as a complete shock, I just couldn’t believe it.”
Keith, 90, whose Milton home is just three miles away from Richard and his wife Janice in Iwade, added: “I had been told about Leonard’s plane being recovered and I knew he was a relation, but I didn’t know he had any children.
“I was only 12 years old. His mother was carrying at the time but I didn’t know. I was the last person to have seen Leonard. That would have been in late 1942.
“I went to Sittingbourne Railway Station to see my father who was in the Navy and was going back on leave that day. I went to say ‘cheerio’ to him and Leonard was there as well, so I said ‘cheerio' to him too. Of course, we never saw Leonard again.”
Keith met Richard and Janice, for the first time, the day after the article was published.
He said: “I still can’t believe what’s happened. I saw Leonard last and here I am welcoming his son, who wasn’t born at the time, to my house. It seems strange, but really nice. I shall keep in touch with them now.”
Richard and Janice said they did not know Keith existed, either, prior to the story being published. Richard added: “He really is a smashing guy. He was over the moon when we saw him.”
Sgt Leonard Shrubsall’s BK716 aircraft took off from Downham Market in Norfolk on March 29, 1943 and was never seen again.
The gunner’s family received a letter from King George VI commiserating them on their loss but no one knew his final resting place until last year when the plane was found submerged in a freshwater lake outside Amsterdam.
Almere City Council in Holland is funding recovery of the aircraft, which is due to start on August 31.
“We just thought it had been shot down over the North Sea, that’s all the family had ever thought until the past year,” said Janice.
“We do intend to go over there when it is lifted. They’re thinking about doing a full military funeral if they can and they’ll probably bring the remains over here for a burial.”
A typical Short Stirling carried seven crew members – two pilots, a navigator/bombardier, a nose gunner, a flight engineer and two dedicated gunners. In addition to the crew, the plane could carry 14,000 pounds of bombs or cargo.
