Cricket club in search for family of WW2 aviator

The cap is currently on display at Norton Woodseats Cricket Club

A cricket club is hoping to reunite a cap belonging to a player who was killed in World War Two with his family.

Norton Woodseats Cricket Club found the cap which belonged to Geoffrey Slater, a Sgt Observer in the RAF, while clearing out its old ground.

Sgt Slater was one of a crew of five who were deployed on a bombing raid to Osnabrück in Germany on 6 October 1942 from which they never returned.

The Sheffield club said it hopes it can trace members of Sgt Slater's family.

Club member Abbas Shah said they made the discovery while clearing out their old grounds at Graves Park as part of their move to Matthews Lane.

"When we came across we thought it would be so nice if we could try and trace Geoffrey's family members, see if they are still around locally, nationally or internationally and invite them to the club," Mr Shah said.

According to a description found with the cloth cap, Sgt Slater was born on 13 September 1920 and was 22 when he died.

He was killed alongside Sgt John Forbes, Sgt George William Rhodes, Sgt Walter John Howes and Sgt John Forman after their aircraft was shot down over the Dutch village of Slagharen.

Sgt Slater, who lived at 1 Backmoor Crescent in Norton, attended High Storrs Grammar School and was a Sunday school teacher at Greenhill Church.

Records from the Commonwealth War Graves archive show he was the son of Harold and Ivy Marie Slater, of Sheffield, and was buried at Hardenberg Protestant Cemetery in the Netherlands.

An entry for Sgt Slater on website Find A Grave features a photograph believed to be him which the BBC is trying to verify.

A photograph believed to be of Geoffrey Slater has been posted online

Norton Woodseats Cricket Club president Dave Colegate said the process of trying to find Sgt Slater's relatives was "only in its infancy".

"One of the interesting facts is the address," he said.

"1 Backmoor Crescent is 200 yards from where we've moved grounds to, so it's a bit like the Titanic and the iceberg not knowing anything about the other until they collide."

He added: "It's better than memorabilia.

"It gives us the opportunity to doff our caps and say thank you to him and the thousands of people like him who enabled us to be where we are and do what we do."

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