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WWII Pilot Found 86 Years Later in France
20 Apr
Summary
- RAF pilot's remains identified 86 years after his death in WWII.
- His Hurricane plane wreckage was discovered by canal workers in 2022.
- He will receive a full military burial on the anniversary of his death.
Eighty-six years after his death during World War Two, the remains of RAF pilot Sqn Ldr George Morley Fidler have been positively identified. Fidler, aged 27 and from North Yorkshire, was shot down on May 19, 1940, when his Hurricane aircraft was downed by a German Messerschmitt.
For decades, his whereabouts remained unknown, despite an earlier burial of a body believed to be him. In 2022, the discovery of Fidler's Hurricane, with him still in the pilot's seat, occurred during excavation work to expand a canal in Oisy-le-Verger, northern France.
War detective Nicola Nash led the investigation, which involved nearly four years of research and testing. Initial efforts to locate living family for DNA samples were unsuccessful. Instead, DNA from other potential candidates was used in a process of elimination to confirm Fidler's identity.
Sqn Ldr Fidler is set to receive a full military burial on May 19, marking the 86th anniversary of his death. Nash highlighted the rarity of such a recovery, noting that while recoveries are frequent, those like Fidler's are exceptionally uncommon.
