WWII airman family found in Sheffield cricket cap appeal

Relatives of an airman who was killed in the Second World War have been found following an appeal.

Last month Norton Woodseats Cricket Club in Sheffield appealed for help to trace the family of RAF observer Geoffrey Slater after he came across his cricket cap.

His niece, Dr Mandy Jones, contacted the BBC after seeing the article by chance online.

The 63-year-old, from Lincolnshire, said being reunited with her uncle’s cap would be “unbelievable”.

The lid, which was found during a clean-up, included a description which said Sgt Slater had lived at 1 Backmoor Crescent in Norton, Sheffield and attended High Storrs Grammar School.

He was the son of Harold and Ivy Marie Slater and had three siblings named Leslie, Betty and Barbara.

Dr Jones said that of all the siblings, only Betty, 97, was still alive.

She said her uncle Leslie died in the early 1990s, while her mother Barbara, who was 19 years younger than Sgt Slater, died in 2017.

Archives show Sgt Slater was one of a crew of five who were killed after their aircraft was shot down over the Dutch village of Slagharen on October 6, 1942.

“I think the Dutch gave the family the story – and I don’t know if there’s any truth there – the aircraft was shot down, the men parachuted in and surrendered, but they were shot anyway,” Dr Jones recalled.

She said her uncle’s death had affected the whole family, especially her grandfather Harold Slater, a former Hull City player.

“My grandfather was always a very fit person but when Geoffrey died he took it very badly and became quite ill,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s ever been the same.”

Despite the passage of time, she said her uncle was “kept alive” in the family’s memories.

He now hopes to get in touch with the cricket club to thank them for their efforts in trying to reunite his Cap family.

Abbas Shah, the club’s treasurer, said he was delighted Dr Jones had come forward.

“We can’t wait to get in touch and invite her to the club where her uncle played all those years ago,” he said.