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Service held to mark RAF 576 Squadron's 80th anniversary

Jessica Lane/BBC 576 Squadron serviceJessica Lane/BBC
A service was held on Sunday to remember more than 1,600 aircrew who were part of 576 Squadron

A service has been held to mark the 80th anniversary of a Lincolnshire-based World War Two bomber squadron.

The RAF's 576 Squadron was formed on 25 November 1943 at Elsham Wolds in North Lincolnshire, with its Avro Lancaster aircraft used to bomb Berlin.

Relatives of squadron members gathered at the former RAF Fiskerton near Lincoln on Sunday for the ceremony.

An anniversary dinner was held on Saturday at the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln.

Out of 1,611 aircrew who served on the squadron, 379 were killed or presumed missing, 12 evaded capture and 66 were taken as prisoners of war, event organisers said.

There are six surviving squadron members, all now in their late 90s.

Jessica Lane/BBC Roy BriggsJessica Lane/BBC
Veteran Roy Briggs, 98, was among those who gathered for the anniversary weekend

The surviving members were represented over the weekend by 98-year-old wireless operator Roy Briggs, who was the guest of honour.

He told the BBC he was feeling "very lucky" as he was the only veteran who was able to travel to the event.

"People have organised this and I wanted to support them as much as I could," he said.

"I feel very proud all these people have come here."

Many relatives attending the event have been brought together via a Facebook group remembering squadron members, organisers added, with about 1,000 members worldwide.

RAF Elsham Wolds Association Lancaster bomberRAF Elsham Wolds Association
Avro Lancaster aircraft were used by 576 Squadron during World War Two

Matt Wood, who started the group, described the weekend as "incredibly emotional".

"I wanted to do something to remember my dad, who I never knew - he was killed when I was very young in an aircraft crash," he said.

"I decided to look into his history and then it grew to looking into the history of the whole of 576 Squadron."

Diane and David Goodes travelled from Australia to be at the event.

Mr Goodes, whose father completed 30 operations in bomber command during the war, said: "He didn't talk much about his life experiences over here, we found out more while he was chatting to the grandkids.

"Us and other people have now been able to put their stories together because of the group Matt has organised."

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