The son of a Bradford war hero embarks on his own poignant mission tomorrow - to honour his father.

David Shorten will join veterans in Belgium to unveil a memorial to airmen who lost their lives 60 years ago.

William Shorten, who lived in Wingfield Street, died on April 25, 1944 when his Lancaster bomber was shot down as his crew was returning to England, after an air raid on Karlsruhe in Germany.

The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Sergeant, who was a wireless operator/air gunner, was among the Lancaster's seven-strong crew from the 115th Squadron who lost their lives that night, along with men on another 16 planes.

Mr Shorten's son David will travel from Pudsey to the town of SintKatelijne-Waver where the 8 May Comity, which organises commemorations of the Nazi occupation in Belgium, are unveiling a memorial to the crew on the 60th anniversary weekend of their deaths.

The 61-year-old driving instructor said: "I think it will be moving and an experience of a lifetime. It was a bit of a shock at first because it was such a long time ago, but you never forget."

William Shorten, who was 27 when he died, had worked at St James's Market and was a well-known footballer in the city, playing for Bradford Park Avenue and Bradford Schoolboys.

David knew very little about his father until he was contacted by Belgian Filip Doms, who helps run the committee.

He will visit the war grave dedicated to his father in Schoonselhof Cemetery, Antwerp, for the first time, tomorrow, before joining relatives of the other Lancaster crew at a ceremony in SintKatelijne-Waver to unveil the memorial.

"There are two bodies in the grave which could not be recognised and a third body was listed as missing so we are not sure whether or not my father was ever found," said David.

"Filip has been so kind and I am really looking forward to meeting him.

"We have made a determined effort to go because the people in Belgium have taken so much time to do all this on behalf of our family."

Mr Doms, who is also a curator of the Jewish museum Mechelen, a transit camp for Jews being deported to death camps, grew interested in the Lancaster after reading an article.

The 46-year-old said: "The Lancaster came down just a few streets away from my home in a field near an old farm.

"The memorial will be placed on the spot where three of the seven airmen died, on a private piece of ground that the owners gave for the monument."