FAMILIES of three crew members from an RAF bomber which crashed in the Preseli Hills in 1944 will be represented at a commemoration on the 75th anniversary of the accident later this month.

They are travelling from Australia, USA and the UK to join in a service at the hilltop location where Liberator EV881, of 547 Squadron RAF, crashed on the night of September 19, 1944.

This was one of the worst wartime aircraft accidents in west Wales and six of the nine-man crew died; four of whom are buried at City Road Cemetery, Haverfordwest.

The commemoration – on Thursday, September 19 – is being arranged by the Pembrokeshire Aviation Group which was formed in 1984 to remember the Liberator crew and place a memorial on the crash site. Thirty-five years on the Group is still going strong.

Group founder members Malcolm Cullen and John Evans are co-ordinating the commemoration and have had excellent support from the RAF, families of crew members and ex-service organisations.

Today’s RAF will be paying its own special tribute with a flypast by a Hawk jet from RAF Valley, Anglesey.

The memorial is on Carn Bica, one of the highest ridges in the Preselis, and is reached by a strenuous uphill walk from the start point by Pantithel Farm (Grid Ref SN 127298) to the west of Mynachlogddu.

The service, led by Aviation Group members, is open to all and begins at 11am with the flypast scheduled for 11.30am.

After the hilltop gathering family members and friends will make their way to Tafarn Sinc, Rosebush, before heading to Haverfordwest and an informal visit to City Road Cemetery.

Wreaths, poppy crosses and flowers will be laid on the memorial and at the cemetery.