Frank Robinson, who died on Boxing Day 2007, aged 84, was a member of the elite Pathfinders Squadron, who risked their lives nightly dropping flares to guide Allied bombers on to their targets.

He was told that, if captured, it was his duty to try to escape and make life as difficult as possible for Hitler's troops.

And as World War Two drew to a close, he was given a flag to show invading Russian troops if he was brought down over Berlin. Without that, he would have been shot immediately.

His wife, Muriel, 82, said: "He navigated by the stars and had a piece of equipment which helped him to calculate the route. He was very proud to be in the RAF."

While Mr Robinson, of Cotmanhay, Ilkeston, was based in Babbacombe in May 1943, the Germans bombed a church during a Sunday School service. Among the rubble were 21 children and seven adults.

He volunteered to dig out the dead and it was only during a visit seven years ago that he discovered there had been a handful of survivors.

He recently wrote: "I had been really lucky because 55,750 men in Bomber Command were killed. Two out of every three air crew were killed in operations."

He flew de Havilland Mosquitos, powered by Derby-made Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, and also worked as a bomb aimer.

When the Pathfinders' squadron was disbanded, he was transferred to a transport unit and flew out documents for the Nuremberg trials.

After the war, he returned to work with the local electricity board at Ilkeston, except for two years when the couple lived in the USA. He retired in 1987.

Mr Robinson died of emphysema. His funeral took place at Bramcote Crematorium with a service conducted by Father Bill Enoch, whom Mr Robinson knew through the Ilkeston Federation of Pensioners. Mr Robinson was treasurer and Father Bill was chaplain.

Mr Enoch said: "To people like me, who served in the RAF, the Pathfinders are as famous as the Dambusters."

Mr Robinson's grandson, Aidan Scott, 24, took him to the de Havilland Museum in Hertfordshire last summer and when staff discovered he had flown with the 163 Pathfinders Squadron he was given star treatment.

"He really enjoyed the day and it brought back many memories," said Aidan.

Mr Robinson's niece, Elizabeth Price, added: "He never blew his own trumpet and few people would know what he'd done."