Event marks 70 years since Runnymede memorial unveiling

New illuminations will be officially unveiled on Tuesday evening at the 70th anniversary event

An event marking the 70th anniversary of the unveiling of a memorial to World War Two Commonwealth air force troops is to be held later.

The memorial near Egham, Surrey, carries the names of more than 20,000 people, including the father of a man who will attend the private service.

Peter Clare watched Queen Elizabeth II officially open Runnymede Memorial in Englefield Green in 1953.

His father, Sgt Seymour Clare, a flight engineer, died in August 1942.

He told BBC Surrey: "He has no grave. It's the only place I have to go to. It's very important to me. It's a sort of connection."

The memorial, which overlooks the River Thames, commemorates people who were lost during operations from bases in Europe who have no known graves.

Peter Clare visits the memorial frequently to pay his respects to his father and the crewmen who died with him

Mr Clare was just eight months old when his 28-year-old father was reported missing.

He said: "It was a crew of eight. Four men died, four survived."

He eventually traced the survivors, who gave him a "minute-by-minute account of exactly what happened on that fateful day", which he said "helped a lot of people" in his family.

A frequent visitor to the memorial, he said: "It's always very quiet and quite often when I visit, I am there alone."

Dr Megan Kelleher, from the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation, said she was "delighted" to have Mr Clare attend the event.

She added: "It's a wonderful memorial to look at. It's very quiet, a place for refection and sometimes you are there on your own, which makes it even more poignant."

The event will be attended by about 130 people. There will be a wreath-laying ceremony, speeches and a sunset ceremony.

A replica Spitfire has been put on display at the site.

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