Yorkshire RAF pilot's remains found after 86 years

TL;DR

Fidler Remains Found: Squadron Leader George Morley Fidler's body was discovered in his Hurricane cockpit during canal work in northern France.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)
Identified by Elimination: No direct DNA match possible, but process ruled out three other pilots downed that day.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)
Reburial Planned: Ceremony set for May 19, 2026, at London Cemetery near Longueval, 86 years after crash.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

The story at a glance

Squadron Leader George Morley Fidler, a 27-year-old RAF pilot from Great Ayton in North Yorkshire, was shot down on May 19, 1940, during the Battle of France. His remains were found last year by French engineers excavating a new canal at Oisy-le-Verger in Pas-de-Calais, still strapped in Hurricane P3535. The Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre team identified him with certainty. This is being reported now ahead of his reburial on the exact 86th anniversary of his death.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

Key points

Fidler, described as an "exceptional" pilot, had joined 607 Squadron days before being shot down by a Messerschmitt while protecting troops near Dunkirk; 12 other Hurricanes fell that day.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)
A 1940 grave in Bachy village was long thought to be his but excavations in 2006 showed the wreckage there belonged to Flying Officer James Strickland of 67 Squadron, who bailed out and later died in 1941.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)
The new site had matching serial parts and a yellow star marking for squadron leader; Fidler identified after DNA from other missing pilots that day did not match.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)
No children or fertile siblings for direct DNA, so Nicola Nash's team used process of elimination and contacted distant relatives.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)
Fidler joined RAF in 1934, trained in Egypt, was promoted for skill, and was remembered in Great Ayton with four memorials.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

Details and context

Fidler worked in his father's building business before enlisting at 21. He served three years in Egypt as a "sound and reliable pilot" and was rated exceptional by 1938, rising to flight lieutenant as war began. Posted to France with the British Expeditionary Force, he took command of 607 Squadron after its leader was killed.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

His family had just lost his sister to illness from hospital work. The telegram arrived as his mother grieved; home help Ivy Hynes got a nurse to read it. Local researcher Ian Pearce has documented his story for 20 years, noting village dread of such news.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

The Bachy grave, inscribed by his mother Gertrude, now holds an unknown airman, possibly one of two flight sergeants downed that day. Over half a million British servicemen from both world wars remain missing.[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

Key quotes

Nicola Nash, who led the identification team: “We are 100 per cent certain it is Morley. It has brought him to life for us … undedicating the grave where we thought he had been buried was really sad [but now] I have made contact with a cousin twice removed. He didn’t know anything about the Fidler side of the family and was amazed.”[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

Ian Pearce, Great Ayton researcher: “I started researching this about 20 years ago. It brought to life some of the events of the time and the tragedy of this young man who was shot down. People dreaded the knock on the door.”[[1]](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/raf-yorkshire-pilot-mystery-second-world-war-found-fk8gwxj7k)

Why it matters

Resolving cases like Fidler's honours the missing from early war air battles and aids family closure decades later. It means a proper burial for one Yorkshire airman, with RAF honours, and recognition in his village's memorials. Watch the May 19 reburial ceremony for full commemoration details.