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Royal honour for local flight sergeant

Tuesday, 12 May 2026 at 13:26

Flight Sergeant Sam White at Buckingham Palace Royal Garden Party

A local man has received royal recognition for his outstanding work commemorating the crew of a wartime Lancaster bomber that crashed on Beamsley Beacon.

Flight Sergeant Sam White of 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron RAF Air Cadets was invited to Buckingham Palace for a Royal Garden Party in recognition of his efforts to identify and contact the descendants of the Royal Canadian Air Force crew who lost their lives when their Lancaster bomber crashed on Beamsley Beacon shortly after the Second World War had ended.

Sam played a leading role in bringing the families together and helping organise the poignant 80th anniversary memorial event held last year, which attracted veterans, civic dignitaries and members of the local community.

Members of the Ilkley Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club were proud to support Sam throughout the project and during the commemorative events, which helped strengthen ties between the local community and the Canadian families connected to the tragedy.

Sam attended the Buckingham Palace garden party accompanied by his girlfriend Heather Chiles and had the honour of meeting Queen Camilla during the event.

Mark Sugrue, from the Ilkley Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club, said:

“Sam devoted an enormous amount of time and effort into ensuring the crew and their families were properly remembered. What he achieved was remarkable and brought people together from across generations and countries. We are immensely proud that his hard work and dedication has now received royal recognition.”

The club has congratulated Sam on the honour, describing the invitation as “thoroughly deserved”.

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