Tony Foulds and his friends had gone to the local field to fight some kids from a rival primary school when he heard a noise overhead.
It was 1944 and he was used to the sound of German aircraft over the skies near Sheffield. But this was an aircraft he’d never seen before. It was a B-17 Flying Fortress, an American heavy bomber, and it was on fire.
It circled in the air, only 15 metres (50ft) above them, and Foulds could see the pilot was waving his arms, gesturing for the children to get out of the way.
“All we did was wave back,” the 88-year-old remembered.
Making a last-minute decision as the plane plummeted from the sky, the pilot crashed into some trees to save the children’s lives. All 10 crew members of the Mi Amigo, who had an average age of 23, were killed.
Foulds, who has tended a memorial to the fallen men in Endcliffe Park for decades, said: “Because they saved my life and the lives of my friends, I’ve looked after them since 1973.”
Foulds was distraught last week when the tools he used to care for the memorial were stolen. But thanks to the local community rallying around – and some help from the TV presenter Dan Walker – his equipment will be replaced.
Foulds regularly takes two buses, travelling for an hour, to sweep the leaves and debris off the memorial and clear the paths in the park. He said: “I decided I would spend the rest of my life looking after these lads. This is what I do, I go six days a week for about three to four hours.
“I buy flowers every day. I put a third of my pension aside for flowers.”
When Walker heard that the leaf blower and other tools Foulds uses had been stolen, the TV host shared a post on X asking for help to replace them. He was inundated with offers. Separately, a GoFundMe page has now raised more than £1,100 for Foulds.
Just spoken to Tony.
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) July 10, 2024
He is devastated that someone has stolen his leaf blower, batteries and tools from the park.
I’ve managed to calm him down but if anyone has any information or knows anything… he just wants them back so he can carry on looking after the memorial… pic.twitter.com/MIxMmQrVrU
On hearing that the retailer Screwfix had offered to replace his equipment, Foulds said: “That is marvellous.”
Walker, the Channel 5 and Classic FM presenter who lives in the area, met Foulds a couple of years ago while out with his dog and said his story “resonates with so many people”.
Walker told the Guardian: “I love walking my dog on the hill behind the memorial and watching Tony talk to the groups of people who come every day. He has become quite well known but he always turns the conversation round to his ‘lads’, the men of Mi Amigo who lost their lives in the park in 1944. His dedication to them is what keeps him going, what drives him on through the coldest months of the year and I think it’s that notion of service which resonates with so many people who have heard his story.”
Foulds said any money raised should be donated to Sheffield children’s hospital and that he was just happy to have his tools replaced, which would help him continue to do his work – and there was no sign of him slowing down.
“As long as I’m alive, I don’t need any help at all,” he said, adding: “I’ve already decided that when I do go, my ashes are staying at the memorial and my spirit’s going to be there.”
