CARLISLE-based military historian and author David Price is searching for a local family who are connected to a daring Second World War bombing squadron.
When writing his latest book, Mosquito Men - The Elite Pathfinders of the 627 Squadron, Mr Price unearthed an unlikely link between airmen featured on the book's front cover and a Carlisle family.
He is now on a mission to find the Brown family, who were based on Kingmoor Road during the war and housed two on-leave Australian airmen.
The two airmen were Eric Arthur and John Herriman, who had found safe haven in Carlisle, a place far from the fighting. Eric (Ric) was from Mount Gambier, a city in southeast Australia, and arrived in Britain by ship in the spring of 1944 to serve in the Royal Air Force.
Eric served alongside John with the 627 Squadron based at RAF Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire as a team marking targets as part of the Pathfinders.
Their aircraft, the Mosquito, was nicknamed 'The Wooden Wonder' due to its balsa and plywood construction. Eric and John's most famous operation took place in 1944 when the Squadron attacked the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo in broad daylight.
Evelyn Currie was 20 years old in July 1945 when she first met Eric through the Brown family - with whom she was friends - at their home, 'Glenleigh', on Kingmoor Road.
After this fateful meeting through the Browns, Evelyn and Eric would get married in Australia in 1950 before eventually losing connection with the family responsible for their union.
In 2016, Eric and Evelyn's son Alan visited Carlisle and called on a number of houses on Kingmoor Road - but could not locate 'Glenleigh'.
Eric Arthur passed away in 2019 and Evelyn in March 2022 at the age of 96. But Alan and David are keen to hear from relatives of the Browns.
Please contact David Price at david@davidprice.org if you know anything further on this story.
READ MORE: Cumbria Libraries launch competition to promote love of reading
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here