THE great-great-nephew of a war hero is trying the track down the family of a Meirionnydd airman who escaped the Nazis after he was shot down over Belgium at the height of the Second World War.

In the early hours of 3 June 1942, a Lancaster Bomber flying back to the UK was gunned down and crash landed 14 kilometres south of Brussels, near Waterloo, with seven airmen aboard.

Tragically six of the seven men perished in the crash.

The sole survivor, Air Gunner Sgt William Roch Griffiths (1212794), somehow managed to escape the wreckage but found himself alone and injured, stranded deep behind enemy lines.

Fortunately for the lost soldier, assistance was available in the form of the celebrated ‘Comet Line’, a resistance group in Belgium and France that helped Allied soldiers and airmen return to Britain during the Second World War.

Sgt Griffiths – who hailed from Mount Pleasant, Barmouth – was fortuitously picked up by resistance fighters after his crash landing who then helped the injured soldier by extracting shrapnel from his arm and binding his injuries.

After his treatment, Sgt Griffiths was helped by resistance fighter Josephine Van Durme who hid the Welshman at her mother’s house in Waterloo.

From there he was given false documents and new clothes and smuggled across enemy territory to neutral Spain in a terrifying journey lasting four weeks beneath the ever watchful eye of the Nazis.

During his escape, Sgt Griffiths’ saviour Josephine Van Durme and her fiancé were captured and sent to camps in Germany for their role in resisting the Nazi war machine.

She survived her ordeal and returned to Belgium some months later but horrifically, her fiancé was shot whilst he was in captivity.

Sgt Griffiths, who had made it to British terrotory, was transferred out of Gibraltar on 21 July, 1942.

Weeks later he sent a letter in Welsh, thanking Josephine Van Durme for her assistance and stating his desire to meet again after the end of the war.

Now, 76 years later, the great-great-nephew of Josephine Van Durme is attempting to find Sgt Griffiths’ family and return some of his artefacts to them.

Gregory Delbrouck, of Westmalle, Belgium, has contacted the Cambrian News in a bid to learn more about the extraordinary past of his formidable relative.

“I started this investigation by myself when my father gave me all the archive materials from my great-great-aunt Josephine Van Durme, who was a resistance fighter, and member of the secret army in Belgium during World War 2,” Gregory explained.

“She never spoke of the war afterwards because it had left a great impact on her life. Her fiancé, also a member of the resistance, was executed by the Nazis.

“Joséphine Van Durme passed away on 28 December 2009.

“During her time as a member of the famous ‘comet line’ she, and others, helped escape a pilot by the name of William Roch Griffiths.

“He was the sole surviver of their Lancaster MK1 crashing in Waterloo and a blooded piece of uniform from his arm, his Air Gunner patch and a small piece of the plane is in our possession.

“It would of course be fantastic if we could find out what he looked like or what happened to him after the war. Does he still have living relations? Can we fill in the gaps about his great escape?

“If I could find his relatives I am willing to come to Wales to give back what belongs to the family. It would be an honour.”

Do you have any information about Sgt William Roch Griffiths? If so, please contact [email protected]