Kathryn Madigan knew very little about her father's WWII experience until she sat down to watch the news in early 2015.

The story that caught her attention was about the death of French Legion of Honour recipient, Eric Maxton.

A photo of Eric with his brother, Murray and the crew of Bomber Command 460 Squadron came across her screen.

It had been taken beside a Lancaster bomber in 1944 and Kathryn recognised one of the faces in the photo immediately.

It was her father, Jack Pruss.

"I was absolutely shocked to see him on the television," the Perth local said.

"I had no idea that he was part of this crew and that the Maxton brothers were in Albany."

A chance sighting pieces together the past

Until the chance sighting, Kathryn had limited knowledge of her father's war years.

"My father died when I was nine in 1970, so I didn't know much about his war story at all," she said.

"It wasn't spoken about with my mother."

Jack flew 30 missions as a rear gunner with 460 Squadron, alongside the Maxton brothers.

The news story revealed that Murray was alive, so Kathryn decided to make contact with the former pilot.

She met Murray in his Albany home for the first time this week.

"[It's] absolutely fantastic," she said speaking to Andrew Collins on ABC Great Southern Breakfast.

"Obviously [he was] someone that knew my father, flew with him, trusted him.

"They were such a tight-knit group for a short period of time, but just did such an amazing job."

Pilot searched for his old crewmate

Eric Maxton (far left), Jack Pruss (third from left) and Murray Maxton (third from right) beside a Lancaster bomber in 1944. ( Supplied: Kathryn Madigan )

It was a bittersweet meeting for 94-year-old Murray who had taken steps in 2010 to locate Jack.

"About five years ago in Canberra I tried to get in touch with Jack Pruss because I knew he'd come from Sydney, but no one seemed to know him," he said.

"I couldn't do much about it because I didn't know where he was."

He said meeting Kathryn had answered long-held questions about the fate of his crew.

"I didn't know where he was or what happened to him after the war because as soon as we finished our last trip, we just shook hands and said goodbye and never saw any more of the crew," Murray said.

"It's so marvellous to catch up after 71 years, but it was just unfortunate that he [Jack] passed away so young in life.

"He was a wonderful young man, he had so much energy.

"You had to be a hero to be a rear gunner because it was the worst position in the aircraft.

"If a fighter was going to attack us, he was the first bloke to get shot up. A pretty horrendous situation."

Bomber Command was notorious for having one of the highest rates of attrition of any military unit.

Murray said he remembered their missions vividly.

"Just as if it was yesterday, it's like an indelible impression on your mind," he said.

"Every day you think about a part of the war.

"But things have turned out alright and here we are, Kathryn and I together and that's wonderful."

Murray has a daughter the same age as Kathryn.