A WORLD War Two veteran has revealed how he was treated like a hero when he returned to the spot where his plane was shot down.

RAF gunner Russell Margerison and wife Bette said they were treated like royalty on the trip to Hoogstraten, a town near Antwerp, Belgium, where he baled out of his Lancaster bomber.

He had been returning to Britain after a bombing raid on Duisburg, Germany, in 1944 when his aircraft with its crew of seven was gunned down by the Luftwaffe.

Russell, 79, said: "I was a bit apprehensive about going back because there are some painful memories but it was absolutely unbelievable. Every house we visited we were plied with food and drink and with the utmost friendship and cordiality."

The trip came about after three Belgian historians got in touch with Russell after they read his 1986 book 'Boys At War', which chronicles his time with the Belgian resistance, his subsequent arrest and time at a POW camp in Poland.

Russell said: "We found that their very meticulous investigations had uncovered the whole story, not only in pinpointing where we five surviving crew members had fallen to earth but also tracing our steps until capture by the Germans."

Russell, of Lower Wilworth, Blackburn, placed two crosses at the cornfield in memory of Max Dowden, the American pilot, and Frank Moody, from Huddersfield, who died when the plane crashed. The moment was captured by a Belgian film crew from national television.

He said: "I managed to hold back the tears but only just."

The historians also took Russell and Bette around the places in Hoogstraten and Antwerp where the Belgian resistance movement hid him and wireless operator Richard Reeves.

These included the hayloft where Russell hid the night after his plane was shot down and the prison where the pair were incarcerated after being caught by German military intelligence after 11 weeks in the Belgian underground.

They were also taken to the home of an 83-year-old woman who had hid the Canadian navigator from the Lancaster, who still kept a picture of him, along with a citation from the Canadian Government thanking her for her bravery.

The couple were also guests of honour of Hoogstraten's Mayor Arnold Van Aperen who presented them with a framed drawing of the town hall.

Russell said: "Now, I feel that I have personally fulfilled a need that has been nagging me for years, possibly only understood by those who were part of this wartime situation and I shall always remain indebted to the three Belgian researchers."