Oak tree which survived World War II bomber crash, competing for Tree of the Year

An oak tree in Rutland that was struck by a World War II Lancaster bomber has been shortlisted for this year's UK Tree of the Year award, alongside nine other trees chosen for surviving extraordinary events across centuries of British history. The Woodland Trust, the charity behind the annual competition, built this year's theme around the idea of against the odds, celebrating rare, ancient or at-risk trees that have endured everything from plane crashes to cannonballs. Members of the public can now vote for their favourite among the shortlisted trees, with the winner set to be announced later this year.How the Bomber Oak earned its place on the shortlistAccording to the Woodland Trust's official announcement of this year's shortlist, the 180-year-old oak stands on a family farm in Rutland and still carries visible signs of its wartime encounter, including a slight dip in its canopy and twisted, misshapen central branches. On 26 April 1945, a Lancaster bomber returning prisoners of war from Germany to England struck the top of the tree, slicing it off, before the aircraft managed to fly on for a few more miles and crash, killing all but two of the seven men on board. The tree recov...