Thatcham blue plaque unveiled for officer killed in air raid

Lt Col Vernon Watkins Urquhart died during an air raid in Thatcham

An officer killed in a World War Two bombing raid has been commemorated.

A blue plaque was unveiled for Lt Col Vernon Watkins Urquhart who died in a 1940 air raid which targeted an ordnance depot in Thatcham.

His name was missed off the town's war memorial, leading to a campaign for him to be formally recognised.

The Last Post was played at a memorial service which took place after the unveiling, attended by members of the Royal British Legion.

The plaque was situated near where his house once stood. He was in the garden when he was killed.

His granddaughter Claire Verdin, who travelled from Norfolk to attend the ceremony, said "the whole thing's been amazing".

She added: "I'm really pleased for my mother, who of course won't know anything about this now.

"But she was very fond of her father, she'd just had a baby when he was killed during the war.

"There was no question of travelling here because of the war, and I think she was terribly upset by his death and it would have meant so much to her to know he'd been remembered in this way."

The plaque is situated near to where Lt Col Urquhart's house once stood

Lt Col Urquhart, born in 1877, served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in France during World War One and was awarded the Military Cross.

Later in life when a military depot was opened on Station Road in Thatcham he was appointed its first commander.

But he was killed shortly after when a bomb exploded near his house while he was in the garden.

He died instantly when metal from the explosion hit him in the chest.

The depot was officially closed in 2000, with the land being developed into the Kennet Heath estate.

Nathan Gregory, from Thatcham Heritage Working Party, said: "It's incredible to finally see his sacrifice and his life commemorated in Thatcham, in a place so close to where he lived and worked."