Find: Maarten Lichteveld unearthed the Dagenham airman's kit in the Netherlands

A metal detector enthusiast is trying to trace the family of a fallen Second World War airman after finding his kit buried in a forest six decades after his death.

RAF Sgt George Arthur Cope, who was from Chadwell Heath, was flying out of Mildenhall air base in Suffolk when his Lancaster bomber crashed on March 22, 1945.

Dutch builder Maarten Lichteveld, who found parts of the wireless operator’s kit owned last summer in Gennep, in the southeast of the Netherlands, now wants to trace members of Sgt Cope’s family who could still be living in Barking and Dagenham.

The airman’s parents, Arthur and Ivy Cope, lived in Dagenham.

Mr Lichteveld was able to authenticate Sgt Cope’s aircrew kit after checking records with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The bomber crewman is buried at Cambridge City Cemetery.

Mr Lichteveld previously reunited the family of American soldier Ray Lang with another mess kit found during a metal detector search in Belgium six years ago.

n Anyone with information about Sgt Cope’s family is urged to call our newsdesk on 020 8477 3824.