THE sisters of a 1940s airman whose name is being added to a village war memorial have been tracked down through an appeal in the Evening Press.

Sergeant David Hartnoll Wright, an RAF air gunner who is buried in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, at Stockton-on-the-Forest, York, was only 20 when his plane crashed on a training exercise in 1943.

The parish council, concerned that the name of its sole Second World War casualty was not listed on the war memorial, is hoping to rectify the situation with a re-dedication service on Remembrance Sunday.

Little was known about Sergeant Wright other than his parents were called Robert and Maude Wright, of York.

Councillor Major General Keith Burch appealed for members of Sergeant Wright's family to contact him and he was overwhelmed by the immediate response.

He discovered that Sergeant Wright was a former Bootham School pupil who lived in Stockton Lane, and that his family once owned a well-known chain of butchers in and around York.

Now Diana Leaf, of Wigginton Road, and her younger sister Pauline Wright, of Stockton Lane, who are both in their 70s, are attending the service in November and are thrilled that their brother is being remembered by the local villagers.

Major General Burch said: "By 6pm on the day the article went in the paper I had it all sorted out, it was excellent.

"In total I had six calls. One was the wrong Wright, but the other five were very relevant.

"I really had no idea he was from such a well-known family.

"Both his sisters are going to be there at the service and I understand Mrs Leaf is going to lay a wreath on her brother's grave."

Mrs Leaf said: "I was rather startled when I saw the article, because it was all such a long time ago.

"I was only 17 when David died. He was a marvellous person of course. We go to his grave, but it's not so upsetting after all this time.

"My parents were devastated, it must have been terrible for them because David was their only son.

"But a lot of awful things happened in that war, there was so much danger."

The cleaning and engraving of the memorial cost more than £1,000 and the work was funded by the Strensall Ward Committee of City of York Council.

Updated: 08:23 Tuesday, September 24, 2002