'Emotional day' as memorial reunited with family

A token memorial of a Guernsey-born officer killed while flying in the US during World War Two has been united with his family.

Sub-Lieutenant Sylvester Kenneth Rabey, also known as "Sly", was tragically killed in an accident in North Windham in Maine on 26 January 1944.

His memorial was found by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Cemetery in Maine.

Volunteers created a rubbing of the memorial, which involves transferring the design of the gravestone on to paper, to give to Sub Lt Rabey's family before Liberation Day.

Sub Lt Rabey, who was born in Guernsey, was evacuated to Oldham aged 16 before the German Occupation of the island.

Later on, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a sub-lieutenant and was then sent to the United States to train.

His niece, Sue Aldwell, was gifted the piece at Guernsey Airport.

"I heard about Sylvester all my life, he was my father's hero," he said.

"To bring him home it has been an emotional day."

It was the first gravestone rubbing to be united with family members and it is all part of a project called Bringing the Boys Back Home to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

It was flown in by "Ready for Duty", a Douglas R4D-6S which served for the US Navy, during World War Two.

It is the last of its kind still flying.

Volunteers from the Commemorative Air Force said they were honouring 423 British servicemen who were killed while training in the US during the war and remain on American soil.

Once the graves were found, the volunteers made rubbings of each headstone to be reunited with the servicemen's families overseas.

Chris Volpe, the wing leader of the Dallas Fort Worth Wing for Commemorative Air Force, helped to bring the memento to the island.

Mr Volpe said he "couldn't put into words" what the project meant.

"This is the beginning of the story," he said.

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