The death certificate of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary First World War German flying ace better known as 'Red Baron', has been discovered in Poland.

Ninety-one years after Von Richthofen died after being shot down near the River Somme in France Maciej Kowalczyk, a genealogist, found the document in archives belonging to the western Polish town of Ostrow Wielkopolski.

Mr Kowalczyk explained that the town, which in 1918 was part of Germany, issued the death notice in accordance to German law.

The discovery of the death certificate in Poland will strengthen the unusual but growing ties between the country and the German war hero.

Swidnica, the site of the Von Richthofen family seat, boasts memorials to the fighter ace, and local officials now tout the town's Red Baron connection as reason to visit, and even a local sports club has adopted his name.