Poignant gift for Rugby RAF veteran who waved his brother goodbye on Christmas, 1939

An RAF veteran who last saw his soldier brother on Christmas in 1939 received a poignant Christmas gift thanks to two staff at Rugby's Anya Court Care Home.

91-year-old care home resident Keith Allen was presented with a picture of his hero brother's grave in France's Lille Southern Cemetery after expressing disappointment that he had not taken a photograph when he last visited.

Keith's brother Leslie was an ambitious young man - growing up in Abergavenny, he had secured an apprenticeship in cookery and in conversations with his brother said he was thinking about joining the Merchant Navy.

But the beginning of the Second World War in September 1939 saw his plans halted while he was called to serve in the Army.

On May 10, 1940, Germany launched a devastating attack on France, sweeping through the country and forcing a surrender in just six weeks.

Leslie Allen became part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) making him one of the men tasked with trying to halt the Nazis in France.

To give us an insight into the conditions Leslie would have been fighting in, here are some notes from when the Advertiser spoke with Rugby veteran Wilfred John Salisbury, who survived the Battle of France and was evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk.

Wilfred described to us a scene of utter chaos during the battle.

Mr Salisbury said: “When we got there it was chaos.

"There were no billets, so we had to find somewhere to sleep on our own.

"A woman found a place for us near a farm."

When the German attack began Wilfred said British forces were completely overwhelmed and forced into a rapid retreat.

Wilfred's unit was forced to destroy heaps of equipment to stop it falling into German hands.

But Wilfred made sure to keep hold of his Lee Enfield .303 rifle until he was safely back in England.

"I don’t think they knew back home what was going on," he said.

"We walked past a lot of equipment that had been blown up.

"It wasn’t just soldiers, there were women and families walking with us to escape the Germans.”

Leslie's fight came to an end in a French field on May 28, 1940. He was just 20 years old.

After the war Keith served as a navigator in the RAF, taking part in sorties in jet bomber aircraft.

One sortie involved taking part in an exercise with the post-war German air force.

"There would be Messerschmitts flying towards us with laser systems and they had to see if they would be able to target us," he said.

When asked how he felt taking part in such an exercise, Keith explained that in the years after the war there was still some feeling of resentment towards Germany.

He said: "My dad used to say, 'I wish I could find the German who killed my son'."

Years later the family discovered that a young French farm girl had found Leslie's body in a field.

And seven years ago they were able to track her down and travel to France to visit her.

The family made repeated trips to Leslie's grave, with Keith, who worked visiting shipyards in Holland, sometimes having further opportunities to travel to Lilles to see his brother.

But Keith regretted not having taken a photograph of Leslie's grave on his last visit.

Anya Court Lifestyle assistants Paul Jones and Noreen Dallinger were moved by Keith's story and felt they needed to do something.

So they traced Leslie’s grave through The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and ordered a picture of the grave to be given to Keith.

They made this in to a presentation picture which included a larger picture of Leslie behind the photo of the grave.

Paul and Noreen then presented the poignant gift to Keith for Christmas.

Keith said: "I was absolutely delighted to have received this.

"The last time I saw my brother I was waving him off goodbye when I got the mumps before Christmas in 1939.

"I know it sounds silly, but when I go to bed I look at the photo and say 'night, night'."

Paul, a former RAF reservist, said he and Noreen have formed a close friendship with Keith and they both enjoy his company.

"He's a lovely, kind man," Paul said.

"And he's immensely proud of his time in the RAF, he's got lots of photos from that time in his room."