Where are the men who saved my life?

A WAR hero, whose plane was forced to ditch in the sea off Scotland in World War Two, has launched a search for the crew of the ship that saved his life.
Ted Russell, of Tudor Mansions, was part of the crew of a Vickers Warwick aircraft which ditched into Scapa Flow, off Orkney, in June 1944.

The plane, BV417, was based at Wick in North East Scotland and was used for air sea rescue missions in the Atlantic or across the North Sea towards Norway and Denmark.
On the night BV417 came down, Ted and the rest of the crew had been trying to locate a Catalina plane which was believed to have been shot down by a German U-boat some 120 miles north of Shetland.

Having set off in the afternoon of June 9, 1944, the mission was called off late that night when nothing was found, and it was while flying back to Wick that the plane's engines failed.
The plane was forced to ditch somewhere in Scapa Flow, a body of water in the Orkney Islands.
Luckily for those on board the frigate HMS Volage was in the area and was able to launch a rescue mission to pick up the stricken airmen.
But it was around 12.45am and pitch black when the plane came down, so no one has ever been sure of the exact location and the wreck has never been found.
The waters around Orkney have since become a world famous diving site, popular with divers keen to explore the wrecks in the area.

And Ted was spurred into trying to find the crew of the Volage, many of whom were thought to be Merseysiders, after an organisation based in Orkney, the Aviation Research Group Orkney Shetland, contacted him in an attempt to locate the Warwick's wreckage.
Ted, 87, said: "I know there were quite a few Merseysiders in the crew, but I don't know whether any of them are still alive or if any of them remember the incident.
"As far as we are aware, the Warwick went down between an island and a floating dock.
"But it was 12.40am and pitch black when we went down so we can't be sure.
"We were on the way back after a search of the North Sea between the Shetlands and Norway.
"We just lost power.
"We didn't really have time to think about these things, but it wasn't exactly delightful.
"We were all wet, cold and miserable, but everyone made it back.
"Now I just want to find those people that saved our lives".
Anyone with information should call Ted on 01704 551020.