AFTER years of searching, a Northwich man has found the grave of his uncle who died in France during the Second World War.

George Houghton, who was born on Verdin Street in Rudheath, was 32 when he was killed in May 1942 during an air raid on an arms factory in Gennevilliers, German occupied France.

John Eaton, his nephew who now lives in Lymm, had been searching for the resting place of his uncle for close to a decade without success.

But thanks to the help of his son, Bernard, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, John finally learned of the grave’s location and was able to pay his respects.

“Uncle George was on board a plane with seven other servicemen before it was shot down, and we managed to track down his resting place as the Dreux Communal Cemetery in Chartres, France,” said the 85-year-old.

“One day I was speaking about George with my son and he said that he wanted to help me to find his grave, and so it was a great sense of relief when we finally did.

“It was a very emotional experience putting the wreath on his grave, and although it was a very sad day, I’m so glad that we did it.”

Northwich Guardian:

George Houghton

Through the help of Bernard, John was also able to find a report detailing how the last few seconds of his George’s life unfolded, which was written by one of the two survivors from the plane.

“It was hard to read the report as I had spent the last evening of his life with him as a nine-year-old before he was killed the next day,” John added.

“I wanted to pay my final respects to him and I’m really glad that I got the chance to do it.”

If any friends or family of John would like to hear more about his visit to France or to read the report of George’s final moments, his email address is je472@aol.com.