The tale of a Goodwick pilot who was shot down by the Germans and sheltered for four months by the Belgian resistance is the subject of an ITV documentary tonight (Tuesday).

On his twelfth flight, in May 1944, 24-year-old John Evans was shot down by a Luftwaffe ace over northern Belgium. He lost contact with the crew of his Halifax and knew that his only hope was to knock on a local door and hope that whoever answered it was not a Nazi collaborator.

John’s luck was in, the occupants of farmhouse he had come across were members of the resistance and the group spent the next four months helping John and his crew, who had been found, to hide.

They were moved regularly, sheltering in woods, safe houses, and finally a resistance camp for American and British airman deep within the Ardennes Forest.

When D day arrived John was in a Belgian village which was liberated by the Americans.

He was sent to Paris and then home to Goodwick to his family who had had no idea whether he was dead or alive for the last four months.

As part of the programme Andree Du Mon, who was part of the group that helped John and his crew was interviewed. She ended up in a concentration camp and all the men in her group died at the hands of the Germans.

“John was very emotional, particularly about the civilians who helped him and risked their lives,” said the programme’s producer, former Western Telegraph reporter Greg Lewis. “They were very very brave.”

The programme’s producers also arranged for 93-year-old John, who now lives in Nottingham to meet with former Luftwaffe ace, Dr Rolf Ebhardt.

“John was very keen to find out more about the enemy. It was a very amicable meeting,” said Greg.

“The pilots compared log books and John found out Dr Ebhardt was flying over Belgium at the same time he was.”

John’s story was filmed for the final of a three-part series, Welsh Heroes of World War 2, which will be broadcast on ITV Wales at 10.35 tonight (Tuesday).