A CEREMONY was held in York this weekend to commemorate a member of the British Transport Police who was killed in the Baedeker Raid.

BTP PC Robert William Smith, 64, was killed when Hitler’s Luftwaffe bombed York in the early hours of April 29, 1942.

Research by the British Transport Police History Group recently unearthed background about PC Smith, ahead of the 75th anniversary of his death on Saturday.

The records showed PC Smith worked for The North Eastern Railway in 1901, and had been an officer for more than 40 years when he died.

On the day of his death, he was on duty for an early shift, working in the police station when the raid took place. The police station was completely destroyed.

A BTP Spokeswoman said: “PC Smith’s body was recovered from the rubble, and he was laid to rest in York cemetery in a plot that cost five guineas.

“He was buried with his daughter, Elise Florence, who died when she was 19, and was buried in 1921. His wife Emily died in 1950 aged 80 and was also laid to rest alongside her husband and daughter.”

Members of the BTP History Group recently visited the grave, which had become overgrown and had sunk into the ground, cut back the vegetation and tidied the grave, before laying a cross of remembrance in his honour.