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The amazing story of a 16-year-old hero war pilot rescued by Belgian villagers after being shot down by the Nazis has inspired his sister in law to help organise Uttoxeter's Poppy Appeal.

Judith Leedham says brother-in-law Robert Wigley's war stories formed part of her motivation to become the town's appeal organiser.

And with Uttoxeter's campaign set to be launched on Saturday, October 28, Mrs Leedham is set for another busy few months.

Just days before the launch, she told the Uttoxeter Advertiser about now-90-year-old Robert Wigley's tale of heroism.

The daring pilot lied about his age to start RAF training - he was just 16 when he headed for the Battle of Arnhem with the 118de Spitfire Squad.

It was September 1944 and Allied forces had just liberated Belgium from German forces.

The legendary Field Marshal Montgomery had plotted Operation Market Garden to invade Germany through the Netherlands.

Air squadrons were employed to drop British troops in Holland to secure several key bridges as part of the operation.

Although the battle ultimately represented a victory for the Nazis, a teenage Mr Wigley did his part and began the journey back to "Blighty" with his comrades.

But they came under fire from enemy armoured railway wagons flying over Wakken, in Belgium.

Mr Wigley told Belgium newspaper De Mandelbode: "My plane was hit. The engine stopped. The tail unit of my Spitfire was hit and I lost total control. A controlled crash landing was inevitable.

"The aircraft broke in the middle and I got stuck. People liberated me from the plane.

"After, I was driven to a Polish fieldhospital. Then I was airlifted to a hospital in the UK."

Farmers and other villagers helped Mr Wigley escape from his aircraft and, after a stint in the infirmary, he was soon back with his squadron and served for the remainder of the war.

But Mr Wigley's part in the Allies' victory was not the only significant part of his military service.

It was during his service that he met Judith's sister, Mabel, with whom she grew up in Manor Farm, Kingstone.

Known as "Red", she fell for a dashing Mr Wigley after joining the RAF Nursing Corps and they were married in 1953.

The couple enjoyed a happy life together, mainly living abroad in Aden and Lebanon, then France and Spain when Mr Wigley retired.

Sadly, Mrs Wigley died aged 90 three years ago, but her widower is still going strong, living in Wiltshere.

Mrs Leedham enjoyed an emotional meeting with the farmers who saw Mr Wigley's plane come down when she visited Wakken in 2001.

She said: "The people of Wakken are as proud of Bob as I am. The places he and my sister went and the lives they have led would fill a book.

"Bob flew most of his life, including freight after his service, and the people of Wakken are as proud.

"I think stories like his speak volumes for why we remember our servicemen as proudly as we do.

"My commitment to helping them partially comes from the stories he's told me. Because of them, I make at least one visit a year to Normandy and Flanders Field.

"Because he's helped me become so aware of what happened in the past, I'm all too aware of what's happening to servicemen now and know how much they need our help and support."

Uttoxeter's Poppy Appeal launch event will take place at the town hall at 10am on Saturday, October 28.

The Staffordshire Royal British Legion will launch its county-wide appeal at Whittington Barracks on Friday, October 27, at 9.45am.

As the UK continues to mark the centenary of World War One, a giant Staffordshire Knot carry 850 poppies, each with the name of a Staffordshire Regiment soldier who died in the Great War, will be unveiled.

The knot has been put together by Uttoxeter WI and school children, including those from St Mary's First School, Uttoxeter, have created the poppies.