In 1944, Christchurch pilot Flying Officer Raymond Cammock died heroically crashing his fighter bomber into a German ammunition train in the Netherlands.
Now, nearly 80 years later, Dutch rail workers have found parts of his plane and next week will dedicate a tunnel in his memory.
Raymond Cammock was already a war hero for shooting down at least 20 German flying bombs.
But on October 6, 1944, he and a colleague spotted a German ammunition train in the Dutch town of Lochem. They hit the train but his Hawker Tempest also took fire.
After being hit, he sacrificed his life by flying his damaged plane into the ammunition train and blowing it up.
He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Cammock was 21 but a veteran of 213 operations. His remains were buried at Lochem cemetery.
But now Dutch rail workers have made another discovery at the railway crossing where it transpired that Cammock had died.
"We did know there was a train attack but we didn't know the exact location. So during that maintenance work we found a lot of remnants of the train, also remnants of the plane and we found a lot of ammunition," one said.
That's where historian Niels Van Der Lee came in.
"It was my duty to try to find the family and tell them that we know the exact place where he crashed," he said.
In fact they were already in touch with a local historian, and Dutch authorities have since invited them to a service next week when a nearby tunnel will be named 'Flying Officer RJ Cammock' in his honour.
"I'm very proud that it's possible in the Netherlands to do that: to give honour to a young guy like Raymond who gave his life for our freedom."
Raymond Cammock's citation says he displayed great zest, set an example of skill and courage, whose devotion to duty was unflagging.
