A former World War II pilot from Germany asked for forgiveness Monday during an emotional return to the English village which he had bombed during the six-year conflict.
"I want to see the people in Bolam from that time and explain what I was doing and say sorry for the damage that was caused," 82-year-old Willie Schludecker said of the 1942 raid on Sunderland in the north-east of England.
He told villagers he had come to Bolam to tell them he was sorry for wrecking their church, and added: "I am very happy that no one was hurt."
One of his bombs hit the village's ancient St Andrew's church, causing severe damage to the historic structure.
Schludecker had been unaware of the exact damage done by the bombing until he was tracked down by a local historian, Bill Norman, in Cologne, western Germany.
Norman's research into the German bombing raids in north-east England led Schludecker to make his first visit to Bolam since the May 1, 1942 raid and apologise to its residents.
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