0:00:04 > 0:00:07Hello and welcome to a new series of Inside Out from Bridlington.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12This week, we investigate whether the deaths of two young jockeys who
0:00:12 > 0:00:14died in a fire at a block of flats in North Yorkshire could have been
0:00:15 > 0:00:19avoided. As the authorities consider
0:00:19 > 0:00:23prosecuting those in charge of the building's fire safety, a mother
0:00:23 > 0:00:29demands answers. My daughter was screaming at the
0:00:29 > 0:00:38window for help. Also tonight, Baywatch. We find out
0:00:38 > 0:00:43just what it takes to become a Bridlington lifeguard. I'm a
0:00:43 > 0:00:48terrible lifeguard! And, French fighters. Exclusive
0:00:48 > 0:00:58wartime footage of the men who fought the Nazis from an air base
0:00:58 > 0:01:07
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Last year, a man was convicted of the manslaughter of two young
0:01:11 > 0:01:16jockeys after setting fire to a block of flats in North Yorkshire.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19But Inside Out has discovered the local authority is also considering
0:01:19 > 0:01:23legal action against those responsible for the building's fire
0:01:23 > 0:01:27safety. I've been investigating whether the deaths of these two
0:01:27 > 0:01:32young people could have been avoided.
0:01:32 > 0:01:41I want to know how my daughter didn't get out, how was she meant
0:01:41 > 0:01:48to get out? They've cut corners and people have died. My daughter's
0:01:48 > 0:01:54been tortured to death. We should never have been basically
0:01:54 > 0:02:00told that fire safety was satisfactory. It is evident now
0:02:00 > 0:02:05that that was not the case. Just over two years ago, two young
0:02:05 > 0:02:09people died in a horrific fire in this block of flats in Norton.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15Jamie Kyne was just 18 and Jan Wilson was 19 and they were both
0:02:15 > 0:02:19promising young jockeys. Like so many other young people who
0:02:19 > 0:02:22come here with the love of racing to try and learn their craft, the
0:02:22 > 0:02:26two teenagers caught up in this weekend's tragedy were part of a
0:02:26 > 0:02:31close community who lived, worked and socialised together.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Peter Brown worked as a caretaker at the flats, called Buckrose court.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37He was sent to prison for manslaughter last year after
0:02:37 > 0:02:43starting the fire. I don't know who's done it or
0:02:43 > 0:02:46what's happened, but it was not me. But Inside Out has discovered that
0:02:46 > 0:02:51the North Yorkshire Fire Authority is still investigating what
0:02:51 > 0:02:55happened that night more than two years later. But the question is
0:02:55 > 0:03:03why? I've travelled to Scotland to meet
0:03:03 > 0:03:09Marg wet Rhyl son, whose daughter Jan died at buck rose court. This
0:03:09 > 0:03:15rose is called Haydock parbgs where Jan had her first win for us --
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Haydock Park. I meet Margaret at the local church where together
0:03:20 > 0:03:22with friends and family, she's created a special memorial garden
0:03:22 > 0:03:32for her daughter. I don't really have to go any place to think about
0:03:32 > 0:03:33
0:03:33 > 0:03:36her. I would say there's no minute of the day that she's not thought
0:03:36 > 0:03:40about. I believe it was about 2.15 in the morning when our pagers went
0:03:40 > 0:03:47off. At that point, you just leg it and get to the fire station as
0:03:47 > 0:03:51quickly as you can. There was a young girl, she was running around
0:03:51 > 0:03:58hysterically as if something had happened and she shouted "fire,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01fire, so I "so I ran down to where it was, I couldn't see any flames
0:04:01 > 0:04:06at the time. Peter Brown started the fire in the stairwell of the
0:04:06 > 0:04:12flats and it went up very quickly, blocking the main means of escape
0:04:12 > 0:04:16for those trapped inside. That's when the flames started to
0:04:16 > 0:04:21get intense and you could see like a big blue flame, obviously a gas
0:04:21 > 0:04:25fire, then the windows started to crack and the frames fell out.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29When we got to the stairwell, there was no doubt in our minds that we
0:04:29 > 0:04:34shouldn't step on to it. It was clearly very, very unsafe. It was
0:04:34 > 0:04:39just smoke and flames. Many of the people living in the
0:04:39 > 0:04:44flats jumped from the windows to escape. Jamie and Jan were both in
0:04:44 > 0:04:50flat 5 on the second floor which was overcome by fire and they never
0:04:50 > 0:04:53made it out. The firefighters who were at the
0:04:53 > 0:04:57scene, we did, to the last man, everything we could have done in
0:04:57 > 0:05:02that terrible situation. As we came round the corner, there was no
0:05:02 > 0:05:04doubt in my mind that if there was anyone in that fire, they were
0:05:04 > 0:05:11already deceased. There was no chance anyone could have survived
0:05:11 > 0:05:14that. The man who deliberately started the fire, Peter Brown, was
0:05:14 > 0:05:20sent to prison last year for the manslaughter of Jan and Jamie, but
0:05:20 > 0:05:25for Marg rets Wilson, that's by no means the end of the matter --
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Margaret Wilson. I think that shrub mystery fire is
0:05:30 > 0:05:34very well named. We are now two years this weekend and I still
0:05:34 > 0:05:37haven't got a lot of questions answered about that night.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Margaret contacted me after she discovered that the North Yorkshire
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Fire Authority were still investigating the Norton fire. It
0:05:45 > 0:05:49seemed that the building, which had been converted to flats three years
0:05:49 > 0:05:54earlier, may not have complied with fire safety regulations.
0:05:54 > 0:06:04People have not done things for the safety of that building. I think
0:06:04 > 0:06:05
0:06:05 > 0:06:09they're worse than Peter Brown because they're worse than him.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14So we decided to ask the North Yorkshire Fire Authority what was
0:06:14 > 0:06:19going on. We sent a Freedom of Information request about the fire
0:06:19 > 0:06:23at buck rose court and what we discovered made shocking reading --
0:06:23 > 0:06:29buck rose court. In this letter from North Yorkshire building
0:06:29 > 0:06:38control to the approved inspector at buck rose court, they say the
0:06:38 > 0:06:43building has "deviations" from fire safety guidance. Before a block of
0:06:43 > 0:06:49flats can be occupied the owners need to obtain what is called a
0:06:49 > 0:06:52final certificate confirming that it complies with safety legislation.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56JHA innovation issued the certificate but without consulting
0:06:56 > 0:07:01the Fire Authority which they are legally obliged to do. We asked a
0:07:01 > 0:07:07fire safety expert how serious this breach was. I would say that was a
0:07:07 > 0:07:11significant omission on the part of the approved inspector. One might
0:07:11 > 0:07:14reasonably argue that the Fire Service would certainly not have
0:07:14 > 0:07:17overlooked the facilities for firefighting. So what were the
0:07:17 > 0:07:20issues for the firefighting facilitys? Well, firstly the
0:07:20 > 0:07:24building had no access for emergency vehicles and was near Le
0:07:24 > 0:07:27double the recommended distance from the nearest road.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30I'm surprised the approved inspector who dealt with the
0:07:30 > 0:07:33approval under the building regulations didn't require
0:07:33 > 0:07:37compensatory measures for the distance between the fire appliance
0:07:37 > 0:07:42and the block. You could think about putting in a sprinkler system
0:07:42 > 0:07:48or install a dry rising main. A dry pipe could obtain water at any
0:07:48 > 0:07:52landing level within the flats. JHAI told the BBC that their
0:07:52 > 0:07:56sympathies were with the families of those who died and they would
0:07:56 > 0:08:01always accepted they made an error in not consultlinging the Fire
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Authority. However, they said the approved design did comply with
0:08:04 > 0:08:09building regulations and pointed out that it was a deliberate act of
0:08:09 > 0:08:13arson that caused the fire. Howard Keal was on the planning committee
0:08:13 > 0:08:17which passed the plans. He's very concerned that the issue was not
0:08:17 > 0:08:23explored thoroughly enough at the time. If those issues had been
0:08:23 > 0:08:27identified when this came to the committee, then there is no
0:08:27 > 0:08:36question in my mind whatsoever that those would have been made
0:08:36 > 0:08:40conditions and requirements of any approval. Those issues were not
0:08:40 > 0:08:43brought to the attention of the committee. Of greater concern from
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Jan and Jamie's point of view were the problems inside the building.
0:08:47 > 0:08:53All the doors to the flats were fire resistent and supposed to be
0:08:53 > 0:08:57self-closing, but the door to flat 5 was faulty and remained open,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01engulfing the flat in flames and smoke. With the self-closing doors,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05how significant would you say it is that it didn't work? A very major
0:09:05 > 0:09:09factor I would have expected in the circumstances of the fire and the
0:09:09 > 0:09:15deaths that occurred. The occupants of the flat would have been safe
0:09:15 > 0:09:19for a prolonged period of time because the door was designed to be
0:09:19 > 0:09:21a fire resisting door, able to withstand fire for 30 minutes or
0:09:21 > 0:09:27more. The fire investigation report
0:09:27 > 0:09:30mentions what it calls "combustible materials" being stored in the
0:09:30 > 0:09:35stairwell. These turned out to be kitchen unit carcasses which were
0:09:35 > 0:09:39piled up at the bottom of the stairs. It's that kind of materials
0:09:39 > 0:09:45that the Fire Brigade use to demonstrate how quickly a fire can
0:09:45 > 0:09:51develop. Basically, within two minutes of them see setting the
0:09:51 > 0:09:56units on fire, there was a really well developed fire.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01It was similar material that it was in the stairwell, I can fully
0:10:01 > 0:10:05understand why the fire developed so quickly.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08That's a significant contravention of fire safety legislation. The
0:10:08 > 0:10:11fire itself arguably could have been prevented had there not been
0:10:11 > 0:10:15combustible materials within the stairwell and if there was no fire,
0:10:15 > 0:10:20then clearly there would have been no fatalities. We wrote to Alan who
0:10:20 > 0:10:23represents the companies who own and manage the building. He told us
0:10:23 > 0:10:27he is working closely with the Fire Authority but that as legal
0:10:27 > 0:10:31prosealedings are pending, it would be inappropriate to comment further
0:10:31 > 0:10:37at this time -- legal proceedings. It's been more than two years since
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Jamie and Jan died at buck rose court and their families are still
0:10:39 > 0:10:45awaiting the Fire Authority's decision whether any further action
0:10:45 > 0:10:51will be taken. I want to know how my daughter didn't get out, how was
0:10:51 > 0:10:55she meant to get out of that flat? My daughter was screaming at the
0:10:55 > 0:10:59window for help and it's the only way I can help her now, is to, you
0:10:59 > 0:11:06know, stop this happening to somebody else. If there's anybody
0:11:06 > 0:11:10the blame, they need sorting out. Buck rose court has been renovated
0:11:10 > 0:11:13but remains empty and under a prohibition notice from the Fire
0:11:13 > 0:11:22Authority who say they're carrying out an investigation which could
0:11:22 > 0:11:27result in criminal proceedings -- buck rose.
0:11:27 > 0:11:36Coming up: Little front: The French airmen who flew sorties against
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Nazi Germany from a Yorkshire airfield.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Every year, millions of us visit the seaside and here in Bridlington,
0:11:43 > 0:11:48they have a team of dedicated lifeguards who work throughout the
0:11:48 > 0:11:55summer to keep us all safe. We sent Keeley Donovan to find out just
0:11:55 > 0:11:59what it takes to become a lifeguard. Here come the lifeguards. Keeping
0:11:59 > 0:12:03us safe when we are on the beach or out at sea. On the East Coast,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07they've dealt with more than 400 incidents this summer.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12I'm not the world's greatest swimmer, but I've been given the
0:12:12 > 0:12:17chance to train as a lifeguard. Let's see if I've got what it takes.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22I'm in Bridlington, one of our biggest beaches. When the sun
0:12:22 > 0:12:26shines, this place is packed and help is always at hand. I'm joining
0:12:26 > 0:12:31the lifeguards who spend the summer making sure holiday-makers stay
0:12:31 > 0:12:35safe and sound. Helen Peterson and Ryan Hepworth are lifeguards on
0:12:35 > 0:12:42Bridlington's south beach, which stretchs from the harbour, all the
0:12:42 > 0:12:46way south to FraisThorpe. What is a typical day for you? We are here
0:12:46 > 0:12:5110-6 all day, preventing accidents before they happen and making sure
0:12:51 > 0:12:55everyone is safe and having a fun day. What is in store for me?
0:12:55 > 0:12:59going to teach you how we enter the water, approach the casualty, bring
0:12:59 > 0:13:04them back into shore and carry them. We are going to teach you a lift
0:13:04 > 0:13:09that we use. I've got the gear. Let's get
0:13:09 > 0:13:15started. Now I'm beginning to look like a lifeguard, time for some
0:13:15 > 0:13:18training. We are going to teach you how to do an unconscious tube
0:13:18 > 0:13:23rescue. This is the rescue tube that all the lifeguards carry. If
0:13:23 > 0:13:29you want to have a feel of it, it's nice and light. That gives the
0:13:29 > 0:13:35buoyancy to the casualty. We have a rope here. Pull on here and throw
0:13:35 > 0:13:39the thing behind it. When we are ready to go, we can put it on our
0:13:39 > 0:13:42shoulder, drag it behind us, then we are ready to reach the casualty.
0:13:42 > 0:13:50It's getting tougher. Another lifeguard, Jen Robinson, is
0:13:50 > 0:13:56pretending to be a swimmer who needs help.
0:13:56 > 0:14:03Swing your bum in. Here you go. Ready, steady, walk. Down to one
0:14:03 > 0:14:09knee. Lower. That's it. If you take her hands. You will Ned to take all
0:14:09 > 0:14:12her weight. As we lower her -- that's it. Fantastic. It's
0:14:12 > 0:14:16strenuous. I don't know how I'm going to do that in the water. I
0:14:16 > 0:14:20need to get into the water and there's a special way of dog this,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24right? We do a thing called chicken legs which is how we run into the
0:14:24 > 0:14:29water without catching our feet on the water and tripping over
0:14:29 > 0:14:33basically. OK. I'll do a very quick demonstration to start with. It's
0:14:33 > 0:14:39really just running but keeping your knees high, so run along, lift
0:14:39 > 0:14:46the knees out the water like so. Here goes. This is the fastest way
0:14:46 > 0:14:52to run across shallow water, it just looks a little silly. On the
0:14:52 > 0:14:58beach, even in shallow water, conditions can be deceptive.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Let these guys know that the safest places to swim are between the red
0:15:02 > 0:15:07flags. Most incidents are painful but routine. This girl's sprained
0:15:07 > 0:15:12her ankle. A boy's cut his finger on a piece of glass. This little
0:15:12 > 0:15:15boy needs to be brought back after drifting out to sea.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Make sure you stay between the red and yellow flags and try not to go
0:15:19 > 0:15:22that far out. If you can't touch the floor, come back in towards the
0:15:22 > 0:15:29beach. Back to the training and I have a confession. I've never swum
0:15:29 > 0:15:32in the North Sea before, but now I've got to dive in. You have done
0:15:32 > 0:15:36your chicken legs at knee depth, then you will use the dolphin dives
0:15:36 > 0:15:40to get you through the next part of water until you get to a point
0:15:40 > 0:15:43where you can swim. Does the head go under the water? Yes. You are
0:15:43 > 0:15:46jumping off the side, diving through the wave, hitting the sand
0:15:46 > 0:15:50again, your hands are in front so that hits the ground first, then
0:15:50 > 0:15:57pull on the ground to bring your legs through ready to push up for
0:15:57 > 0:16:04the next one. Ryan shows me how it should be done. It's not as - easy
0:16:04 > 0:16:14as it looks. Do you want to do this together. Breathe through your nose.
0:16:14 > 0:16:14
0:16:14 > 0:16:24Ready? Yes. We are off. I don't know about Helen and Ryan, but I'm
0:16:24 > 0:16:36
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Dolphin dives, but that was more like a belly flop!
0:16:40 > 0:16:45We have done the training and I've been in the water, now I'm going to
0:16:45 > 0:16:48try and rescue someone. Can you hear me? Jen is pretending to be a
0:16:48 > 0:16:53holiday-maker in trouble. It's up to me to help her. I'm checking
0:16:53 > 0:16:57whether she's breathing and she is. So now I'm going to try and swim
0:16:57 > 0:17:02her back to shore. Now comes the final task to get the casualty out
0:17:02 > 0:17:06of the water. We've got to pick her up and try not to drop her. We are
0:17:06 > 0:17:16spreading the weight on both our shoulders. It takes balance and a
0:17:16 > 0:17:21fair bit of strength. Down to one knee. Lower. It was my
0:17:21 > 0:17:25first attempt! I think I need a little more practise. I'm a
0:17:25 > 0:17:30terrible lifeguard! So how do you think I did? Could I
0:17:30 > 0:17:33be a potential lifeguard? You've grasped the basics quickly. You
0:17:33 > 0:17:37need to work on your dolphin diving a little more and it obviously
0:17:37 > 0:17:41takes a lot of training to get your fitness up. If you are prepared to
0:17:41 > 0:17:44put in the hours on your fitness, you never know. A diplomatic
0:17:44 > 0:17:48answer! Everyone gets worried when a child
0:17:48 > 0:17:55might have gone into the sea. Today, there's an alert on the beach. A
0:17:55 > 0:17:59seven-year-old girl's gone missing. As a search begins, lifeguard Jen
0:17:59 > 0:18:02joins the girl's father on the beach.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05This gentleman's lost his little girl, so we have got all the
0:18:05 > 0:18:10lifeguards out looking for them, someone on the quad bike, someone
0:18:10 > 0:18:15in the patrol zone looking for her, someone doing base obs and we are
0:18:15 > 0:18:19going to wander on the sand, see if we can find her. The father is
0:18:19 > 0:18:23getting concerned. It's 15 minutes since he last saw her. We seem to
0:18:23 > 0:18:29have searched the majority of the water. So I reckon getting the
0:18:29 > 0:18:33police involved is a good idea, over. Running toward the water last
0:18:33 > 0:18:38time you saw her? She's been missing half an hour and the search
0:18:38 > 0:18:42intensifies. I'm with the faur by the Spa with some of the police
0:18:42 > 0:18:46officers -- father. Waiting for the coastguard, then they're going to
0:18:46 > 0:18:52organise a proper search along the beach. Over. The father thinks he
0:18:52 > 0:18:57might have spotted her. But it turns out to be a false alarm. Jen
0:18:57 > 0:19:00gets some new information from the missing girl's brother and it
0:19:00 > 0:19:04sounds worrying. The little boy, his son, was the
0:19:04 > 0:19:08last person to be with the missing child and his dad said, was she in
0:19:08 > 0:19:12the water and he said yes and he said what happened to her and his
0:19:12 > 0:19:15response, because he's only four was, she disappeared like magic, so
0:19:15 > 0:19:20I don't know whether she's gone into the sea.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24It's an hour since the missing girl disappeared. Everyone's getting
0:19:24 > 0:19:28increasingly concerned. It's a huge beach and crowded with people, but
0:19:28 > 0:19:35so far, the seven-year-old seems to have vanished without a trace.
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Finally, after two hours, it sounds like good news. As you look at the
0:19:40 > 0:19:43beach, as far as you can see, Fraisthorpe beach, the child was
0:19:43 > 0:19:46found by a farmer up there. They contacted the coastguard, they've
0:19:46 > 0:19:49just got down there and confirmed that it was the missing child, so
0:19:49 > 0:19:55they're sending the parents down now. Thankfully, this time, there's
0:19:55 > 0:20:04a happy ending. For all of us, it's been another busy day at the
0:20:04 > 0:20:08seaside. More than 65 years ago, thousands
0:20:08 > 0:20:11of bombing raids were launched against Nazi Germany from an
0:20:11 > 0:20:18airstrip outside of York. But what makes this story different is that
0:20:18 > 0:20:26it wasn't the RAF but two squadrons of French airmen. Lucy Hester has
0:20:26 > 0:20:34unearthed some footage of the men, never been seen before.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Europe 1940 and the full force of the German third Reich is unleashed.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42It faces overwhelming fire power. Within weeks Paris has fallen and
0:20:42 > 0:20:47France surrenders. The world held its breath as the allies teetered
0:20:47 > 0:20:53on the brink of catastrophe, but out of the chaos, some French
0:20:53 > 0:20:57forces made it to England. 2,500 of them took the fight back to Germany
0:20:57 > 0:21:04from right here at Elvington. Elvington had been home to an RAF
0:21:04 > 0:21:07bomber squadron, but when they moved out, the French moved in. It
0:21:07 > 0:21:17became known as La Petite France. This bit of Yorkshire became a
0:21:17 > 0:21:21
0:21:21 > 0:21:24central part of the campaign to Elvington is now home to the
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Yorkshire air museum, but towards the end of the Second World War,
0:21:28 > 0:21:34two French squadrons of Halifax bombers were based here. They
0:21:34 > 0:21:39launched wave after wave of attacks against the German military machine.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44It It meant that they were able to fight back for really the first
0:21:44 > 0:21:47time since the Germans had invaded France. It's been said that bomber
0:21:47 > 0:21:50command didn't win the war, but without bomber command, the war
0:21:50 > 0:21:53wouldn't have been won. I suppose the missions that they had to
0:21:53 > 0:22:02undertake meant that the French bomber squadrons were actually
0:22:02 > 0:22:08bombing their own country? Yes. One of the very first missions by the
0:22:08 > 0:22:10squadron was to bomb the gunning placements on the Normandy beach
0:22:11 > 0:22:14head. They wouldn't know why they were doing that. They knew the
0:22:14 > 0:22:18target was in France, which must have been quite significant for
0:22:19 > 0:22:22them being one of their first missions.-Lucian Mallia was a
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Halifax rear gunner and he remembers the night the German
0:22:27 > 0:22:31fighters took their revenge. were shot down by German fighters.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35They sneaked into England in the midst of a group of bombers. As we
0:22:35 > 0:22:39couldn't see each other at night, to avoid the radars, they returned
0:22:39 > 0:22:43with us. On each air base, there were two
0:22:43 > 0:22:50German fighters and each time we tried to land, they machine gunned
0:22:50 > 0:22:56us. We were shot down like that. So we suffered two fighter attacks and
0:22:56 > 0:23:01there we caught fire and crashed. The plane on fire. That's my
0:23:01 > 0:23:06recollection. By the time of the D-Day landings
0:23:06 > 0:23:15in 1944, the French airmen and their crew were a common sight in
0:23:15 > 0:23:19York. Here at Betty's tearoom, the men scratched their names in the
0:23:19 > 0:23:24mirror. For some girls, a French man in uniform was very difficult
0:23:24 > 0:23:27to resist. Many a young woman fell for Gallic
0:23:27 > 0:23:37charm, swept off their feet but a handsome young man. One of them was
0:23:37 > 0:23:38
0:23:38 > 0:23:45Freda who was still at school when she met a dashing French aviator.
0:23:45 > 0:23:52How old were you when you met Maurice? 17. He was 27. Maurice was
0:23:52 > 0:23:56a flight engineer on a Halifax bomber. This is his crew. Maurice
0:23:56 > 0:24:01landed in Freda's life when he came to her house to spend Christmas
0:24:01 > 0:24:06with her family. Eventually by about 3 o'clock on Christmas Day, a
0:24:06 > 0:24:10knock on the door. I went and of course I saw this oh, this
0:24:11 > 0:24:17Frenchman standing there in uniform. Oh, the uniform, oh. I just cracked
0:24:17 > 0:24:23at the uniform. We went out and played snowball and one of course
0:24:23 > 0:24:31hit me and then he put one down my neck and that was the first kiss.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35He put snow down my neck. And that started it off.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Freda and Maurice's relationship continued, but the conflict proved
0:24:39 > 0:24:42a reality check, why get too close when the survival rate for airmen
0:24:42 > 0:24:47was so poor. The attrition rate in these planes
0:24:47 > 0:24:51was terrible. 50% of the French bomber crews never made it home and
0:24:51 > 0:24:56dozens more were captured after being shot down. But despite the
0:24:56 > 0:25:01heavy losses, their determination to take the battle to Germany
0:25:01 > 0:25:07remained undiminished. It was night-time and there was no
0:25:07 > 0:25:13communications between planes. The only thing that they could do was
0:25:13 > 0:25:22hope that the wings did not touch some other wings or something
0:25:22 > 0:25:26wouldn't happen from above. Then started the anti-aircraft guns and
0:25:26 > 0:25:32also the fighters. They were coming back and they were often pursued by
0:25:32 > 0:25:36the fighters. So, of course, this was very dangerous.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41The cinema at Elvington air museum, some extraordinary forgotten
0:25:41 > 0:25:44footage of the French bomber crews who flew from here.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48This film lay undiscovered in an archive for years and has never
0:25:48 > 0:25:52been shown before. Part of the propaganda war by the exiled French
0:25:52 > 0:25:56government, it's the work of a film crew which followed the airmen of
0:25:56 > 0:26:04Elvington into action. It's in French so it's obviously aimed at
0:26:04 > 0:26:09the French public. Lots of politics, I mean we have no experience of
0:26:09 > 0:26:14modern times of our country being occupied by a foreign power. They
0:26:14 > 0:26:18were trying to show that their own people fought to save France and to
0:26:18 > 0:26:21liberate France and sacrificed their lives for the general
0:26:21 > 0:26:26liberation of Europe. I suppose some of the men that we
0:26:26 > 0:26:31see in this film wouldn't have survived the war at all? No. There
0:26:31 > 0:26:35are very few films of this nature actually a day in the life we
0:26:35 > 0:26:40actually go out on the mission and come back with them and a black
0:26:40 > 0:26:43cloud appears and it's an entire aircraft gone in one shot, seven
0:26:43 > 0:26:49crew. Disintegrated in a minute. Those
0:26:49 > 0:26:52were people they probably just had breakfast with. It's not a
0:26:52 > 0:26:54nationalistic thing under any circumstances, it's a job they had
0:26:54 > 0:27:00to do in order to free their country.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04At the end of the war, the French crews left Elvington to flay to
0:27:04 > 0:27:13liberated France, and that ris left too. It seemed that would be the
0:27:13 > 0:27:20end of the row main -- Maurice left too. It seemed that would be the
0:27:20 > 0:27:22end of the romance. I decided to hang on even though my mother said
0:27:22 > 0:27:28there were more pebbles on the beach. From meeting him to being
0:27:28 > 0:27:31married, we waited five years. Freda and Maurice were married for
0:27:31 > 0:27:35the best part of three years, raising three children. Maurice
0:27:35 > 0:27:39died 13 years ago, but for Freda, their marriage proved that in the
0:27:39 > 0:27:44worst of times, good things can happen. Back in Elvington, text
0:27:44 > 0:27:48ploits of the French bomber crews haven't been forgotten -- exploits.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52The top brass of the French and military will make their way to
0:27:52 > 0:27:55York, they will come to mark the day that the French crews left
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Elvington for good. Time has thinned the numbers of foreign
0:27:59 > 0:28:03airmen who were proud to call Elvington their home. A few of the
0:28:04 > 0:28:07survivors will return this week to mark a small chapter of World War
0:28:07 > 0:28:15II history and this piece of Yorkshire -- when this piece of
0:28:15 > 0:28:21Yorkshire became a key part of the battle to liberate France.