AIRMEN who lost their lives in a wartime plane crash above Oakworth have been pictured together for the first time.

Research by Keighley military historians has uncovered pictures of all six Canadian men who flew on the fatal training mission.

The Wellington bomber crashed into Tewitt Hill in January 1944, during the Second World War.

They are honoured every year at a service at the crash site, organised by Oakworth Village Society and attended by local dignitaries, air cadets and a representative of the Canadian High commission in London.

Over the past few years, volunteers from Keighley’s Men of Worth Project, which researches the war experiences of Keighley people, have gathered information about each of the young Canadians.

They will display the latest findings – including the photographs – during this year’s service on Sunday, January 8, at 2pm at Tewitt Hill, near the Grouse pub.

There will be full details of the backgrounds of Norman Crawford, James Dalling, Ernest Glass, Jack Henfrey, James McHenry and Emery Savage.

Men of Worth spokesman Andy Wade said: “The information has been distilled from their service records and is probably the most detailed information available for the crew as a whole.”

The pilot was Warrant Officer Ernest Israel Glass, born in 1916 at Saskatchewan, a pharmacy apprentice who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1937, at the age of 21.

The single man worked his way steadily up the ranks as an airframe mechanic before starting pilot training in 1942.

His service record stated: “He is an ambitious lad who has worked well in the service. He would show exceptional qualities for observer or pilot.”

The navigator was James Justin McHenry, born in Ontario in 1919 and awarded his air navigators’ badge in 1943, on his promotion to Flying Officer.

The wireless operator and air gunner was Warrant Officer Jack Henfrey, born in 1919 in Manitoba.

Training in Anson and Hampden aircraft in British Columbia, the 24-year-old was posted to the UK in late September 1943 when he joined the operational training unit.

The crew’s air bomber was Warrant Officer James Edwin Dalling, born in New Brunswick in 1918 and working for as a salesman for the Maple Leaf Milling Company before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942.

The crew also included air gunner Sgt Norman Willard Crawford, born in 1922 in New Brunswick and working as a truck driver and gas station attendant before applying for aircrew in 1942.

Another air gunner, Sgt Emery Savage, was born in 1916 in Manitoba and was a clerk in a general store before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force.