HE raced cars, played the violin and his dashing good looks bore more than just a passing resemblance to swashbuckling Hollywood heartthrob of the day Errol Flynn.

But real life hero Harold Williams died at just 23 in the cockpit of his Spitfire in the skies above Wiltshire while practising for dog-fights during the Second World War.

On Sunday the flyer will be honoured in full military fashion alongside another rookie Spitfire pilot close to the spot where they crashed into each other 73 years ago.

With just a few days to go the organisers of the Spitfire memorial at Seagry near Malmesbury have tracked down a member of Mr Williams’ family. Ironically, his second cousin Lorna Heads, 79, lives just a few miles away in Swindon.

Mother-of-three Mrs Heads, of Moredon, said: “I am amazed and surprised by all of this.

“Obviously I am delighted to be attending this ceremony and I am very proud of Harold.”

Mrs Heads will now join several hundred people, along with military top brass and civic leaders for the unveiling of a monument to the pilots who collided over Seagry during a training exercise in 1941.

Flying Officer John Brewster, 25, from Yorkshire and Pilot Officer Harold Williams, of Putney, both of 118 Squadron, were flying Spitfire Mk1s when they crashed into each other over Seagry Mill on Palm Sunday, April 6, 1941. Both men are buried nearby at St Giles Church, Stanton St Quintin.

The campaign for a memorial was sparked when Seagry resident Martin Painter came across a piece of metal from one of the aircraft in a field. It led him to unravel the sad story of the two young pilots. When he put his idea of a memorial to the parish council it received wholehearted backing.

The Seagry Spitfire Memorial will be unveiled in the village at 10.45am on Sunday. Organisers expect a formation flypast of Tiger and Hornet Moths followed by – weather permitting – a ten minute Spitfire tribute display.