I flew the RAF bomber so he could storm the Nazi railyard: Elderly neighbours amazed to discover they both took part in the same WWII mission in Austria

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Two elderly neighbours were amazed to find they had both served in the same bombing mission during the Second World War.

George Rhodes, 99, and Graham Brown, 93, live in the same block of flats in Wells, Somerset, but until recently had no idea they had supported each other during an Allied raid on Graz, Austria, in 1945.

The pair were having a chat when their service in the Second World War came up and they made the incredible discovery that while one bombed a railway yard the other followed by storming the area on foot.

Neighbours: Graham Brown, 93, left, and George Rhodes, 99, had no idea they both served in the same raid

Service: Mr Rhodes, pictured, fought in in the Middle East, north Africa and Italy before moving on to Europe

Graz was of strategic importance to Hitler as it was used as a distribution point for fuel to be sent to other the countries in the control of Nazi Germany - which was why for the Allies it was a target.

Mr Brown served as a pilot in the RAF and attacked Austria's second biggest city from his Wellington bomber while Mr Rhodes and his army comrades waited to strike.

Mr Rhodes said: 'Graham and his boys did a good job. The place was ruined. All the rails had been bombed so much that they were all curled up.

'No train was going to run on those again and the bombs meant that we could enter.'

Soldier: George Rhodes, pictured bottom left, with members of his unit during service in the Second World War

Artillery: George Rhodes, position unknown, preparing a gun with his unit during the Second World War

An army sergeant, Mr Rhodes signed up while still at university in 1942 and went on to serve in the Middle East, north Africa and Italy before the bombing raids in Europe.

Graz was liberated in 1945 and the two returned to normal lives after the war.

Mission: Allied aircraft fly in formation above the clouds en route to destroy targets in Graz, Austria

Mr Rhodes became a mortician in the pathology department of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital before later marrying and having a son. 

Graham returned to Bristol University and completed his engineering degree and then became the manager of Underwood Quarry in Wells.

 After finding out that their jobs in the war were dependent on each other, the two became best friends.

Mr Rhodes said: 'Graham is a great bloke and we talk about the war, thank heavens he and his aircrew were around to support us at that time.' 

 BOMBING TARGET: WHY THE ALLIES SET THEIR SIGHTS ON GRAZ

Graz, Austria's second largest city, was one of the most bombed cities in the country with around 7,802 buildings destroyed.

Alongside Vienna it was of strategic importance to Hitler as it served as one of the main distribution points for raw materials plundered across Europe, such as crude oil from refineries in Hungary and Romania.

The Allies focused attention on bombing the city's railroad lines, storage depots, stations, shops, and marshalling yards in an effort to stop the Nazis moving their fuel around.

The bombing raids, while achieving their goal, came at a cost and the city's population suffered 1,980 civilian deaths by the end of the war. 

Strategic: Graz was bombed by the Allies forces to disrupt oil supply to countries in the Axis' control