Cadets urged to keep lessons of WW2 alive

Frances Dodson and Peter Clare handing the torch of commemoration to an air cadet at Runnymede Air Forces Memorial

Young air cadets in Surrey have been urged by their elders to keep the lessons learned from World War Two alive.

Francis John Brooker’s aircraft took off from RAF Lindholme, in South Yorkshire, to carry out an air raid in Cologne on 4 October, 1940. He never returned.

Frances Dodson, Mr Brooker’s granddaughter, handed the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) torch of commemoration to the cadets at Runnymede Air Forces Memorial on Thursday.

“It was wonderful to pass that legacy on and hope that, if the time came again, they would be willing to do exactly what [my grandfather] did,” said Ms Dodson.

Frances Dodson with a photograph of her father, Francis John Brooker

The torch of commemoration is symbolic of veterans building connections with young people in the hope they will be inspired to understand and spread the lessons of WW2.

Peter Clare joined Ms Dodson in handing the torch to the cadets. Mr Clare’s father, Seymour Clare, died aged 28 on 13 August, 1942, after his plane crashed while on a mission to find survivors of a torpedoed ship.

Mr Clare said he hoped young people would follow the words of the prayer said at commemoration services: "We will remember, we will remember them."

Peter Clare was eight months old when his father died

“It’s important to remember the sacrifices that people gave. The youngsters of today, they’re the future," he added.

Cadets formed a guard of honour for attendees as they entered the memorial, which has the names of more than 20,000 men and women of the air forces who died in the war.

“It’s a special place to be holding the event. The [people here] are not going to be here forever and it’s important their stories live on,” said Megan Maltby, public engagement manager at the CWCG.

The torch will now be taken to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.