A former British Royal Air Force serviceman has travelled to Malta on his 91st birthday to pay tribute to his friend who died in a plane crash almost 70 years ago.

On February 18, 1956, a Scottish Airlines Avro York aircraft crashed into a field on the outskirts of Żurrieq shortly after taking off from Luqa Airport, killing all 50 passengers and crew.

Most of the passengers were RAF personnel heading home on leave from the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt after a stopover in Malta. Douglas Bennison did not make the trip, but his friend Brian Alberry did.

A ceremony for Bennison was organised on Thursday by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at the Mtarfa military cemetery, where most of the victims are buried.

Bennison was taken to Alberry’s grave, where he sat for a few moments in quiet contemplation. Wreaths were then laid and the names of all the victims read out. A bagpiper from the Wallace Pipes and Drums band added to the sombre atmosphere.

The ceremony was attended by a handful of RAF veterans, reenactors, and the deputy British High Commissioner Tristan Gilchrist.

While Bennison, an airman, only knew Sergeant Alberry briefly during their time in Egypt, the two became good friends.

“He worked in the next office over from mine, and he was a higher rank than me but he never brought that up. He was a wonderful guy, and I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. We were always chatting away. I still miss him terribly,” Bennison said.

“It’s still raw and fresh to me even today, even after all these years.”

Sergeant Brian Alberry is buried at Mtarfa military cemetery.

‘Malta will always have a special place in my heart’

Bennison only found out about the details of the crash through the British newspapers.

“It was some time before I heard the terrible news that I would never see him again. At my rank we weren’t privy to details such as how many men had died or what rank they were,” he said.

The former airman says Malta will always have a special place in his heart.

“I can’t forget, and as long as I’m able to keep coming, the cemetery will always be my first stop – not just to pay my respects to Brian but all the other lads as well.”

The crash that claimed the life of Sergeant Alberry and 49 others is one of Malta’s worst air disasters.

As the plane took off, the air traffic controllers at Luqa airport saw smoke from one of the engines and informed the pilot, Captain Frank Coker.

The plane appeared to climb to about 1,000 feet before going into a dive and crashing in the fields outside Żurrieq killing the 45 servicemen and five crew instantly. All those on board were RAF personnel except for one who was an army private who had requested permission to go to the UK because his father was ill.

Twelve of the RAF victims in the crash had won places on the aircraft in a “lucky draw” at their station in the Suez Canal zone.