Relatives of a British fighter pilot shot down more than 60 years ago have learned that the wreckage of his plane has been located in France.

French researchers have found an unmarked grave near a former Luftwaffe airfield in Lorient, Brittany, they believe holds the body of Ernest Richard Lyon, The Edinburgh Evening News reported.

Lyon, born in the Edinburgh suburb of Colinton, joined the Royal Air Force at age 18. He was a flying instructor in the United States and Canada and helped provide air cover for the D-Day invasion.

He was 21 when his Spitfire was shot down in July 1944.

A nephew, Richard Lyon, who lives near Cambridge, said Lyon volunteered to get back into combat.

Richard Lyon said the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is trying to determine if his uncle's resting place has been located. He said the commission does not exhume bodies to test for DNA but circumstantial evidence points to the grave being his uncle's.

Joseph Le Coroller saw a plane shot down July 27, 1944, that he believes was Lyon's. He said the pilot was thrown from the plane and was still alive when he hit the ground.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 18 November 2007   

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