This weekend is a very special one for the people who live in the village of Llanbedr.

And that’s not only because of the village’s annual beer festival which takes place this Friday and Saturday, but also because a group of Germans will be coming over to Wales to celebrate the twinning of their town with the village.

It will, no doubt, be a festive and fun-filled weekend, with an open afternoon for all in the village hall on Sunday, but there is a very tragic and moving story behind the twinning of Llanbedr and Huchenfeld in Germany.

Back in 1945, Wing Commander John Wynne of Llanbedr was flying over the Huchenfeld area when his plane was hit and caught fire.

Thinking that he was over Allied territory, and knowing that the plane was likely to explode within 20 minutes, John Wynne instructed his crew to bail out.

His men parachuted out but found that they were, in fact, over a German controlled area. They were captured by a group of Nazis who, shortly afterwards, shot five of the crew in the church in Huchenfeld. Two men managed to escape.

Against all the odds, and on his own, John Wynne succeeded in getting his damaged aircraft back to England.

When John Wynne heard about the plaque, in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, he had a rocking horse made in Wales and, in the name of the mothers of 214 Squadron, gave it to the Kindergarten in Huchenfeld.

This little rocking horse is called “Hoffnung” or “Hope” and she celebrated her 25th birthday this summer, as every year, with a box of carrots!

See this week’s north editions for the full story, in shops and online tomorrow