Royal British Legion Pilgrimage, circa 1995

Badge worn by Gladys Hilder, the widow of Sgt Charles Hilder, during a visit to the his grave in the Hanover War Cemetery, in the mid 1990s. Sgt Hilder was killed on an operation to bomb Berlin in March 1944, whilst flying in a Lancaster of No.115 Squadron.

The Lancaster in which Sgt Hilder was the bomb aimer, was attacked by a night fighter from below with machine gun and cannon fire, shredding the starboard wing and fuselage. The aircraft erupted in flame and the pilot gave the order to abandon the aircraft. Only three of the crew survived the destruction of the aircraft, one of whom was Sgt Nicholas Alkemade, who miraculously survived unhurt a fall of 18,000ft without a parachute.