Reading about the memorial in memory of the two 609 Sqdn pilots that Snapper organised, and also the plaque which will be unveiled in memory of W/C R J Grant RNZAF at Orsett, Essex on February 28th this year (Colin Wingates thread) was really heartening. It got me wondering how many other memorials have been put up in recent years that maybe the wider public don’t know about.
I went to the unveiling of two new memorials in 2003. One in Norway in honour of the crew of a Halifax which crash landed in 1942 http://home.no.net/kjellsor/movatnet.html one of the two W/Ops onboard died in the crash and it was fitting that the surviving W/Op (and now the only one of the crew still alive) made the trip to Norway for the unveiling where he also met some of the people who assisted him during his attempt to evade capture by reaching Sweden. Unfortunately he was caught just a mile or so from the Swedish border and spent the rest of the war as a POW.
The second was closer to home when a memorial was unveiled in Braemar, Scotland, in memory of all those who lost their lives in aviation crashes in the Cairngorm mountains. The names of a Wellington crew from 20 OTU are on the memorial which is made using one of the engines from their a/c
http://mysite.freeserve.com/scottish_crashsites/1646memorial.html
Anyone know of other recent memorials?
We will remember them.
Linzee
By: ettrick40 - 20th February 2004 at 07:08
hello,
a memorial to the 29 Belgians who fought the Battle of Britain exist since october 2001 at Brussels
By: archieraf - 18th February 2004 at 20:06
Good luck for the 28th Colin, I hope all goes well. Will look forward to seeing pics.
Snapper, Joss Leclercq tells me that he is also organising a memorial plaque or bench for a 105 Mosquito crew this year so he’s certainly keeping himself busy!
By: Colin Wingrave - 18th February 2004 at 19:21
I will post pictures of the memorial service to the memory of Wng Cmnd Grant as soon as I can after the 28th.
Colin
By: Snapper - 16th February 2004 at 22:14
The Spit Pilot was Ken Bramble, another 609’er. I didn’t know Joss then. His Polish memorial looked stunning from the photo’s he showed me.
By: archieraf - 16th February 2004 at 19:51
Snapper, thanks for reminding me about Joss Leclercq. On 28th June 2003 he was responsible for a memorial to Polish Spitfire Pilot Jozef Bondar in Aubers, and in September 1999 a memorial in Fromelles for a London Spitfire Pilot (sorry, the name escapes me), so good work being done in France too.
By: Last Lightning - 16th February 2004 at 17:51
it was last year sometime. who did the survey? i have no idea but it said that spilsby had no memorial which it now has.
By: Snapper - 16th February 2004 at 17:42
When who did their survey?
By: Last Lightning - 16th February 2004 at 17:34
When f*****t did their survey of memorials they left out RAF spilsby which now has a memorial, although it is on a quiet country lane and fairly hard to find.
By: EN830 - 16th February 2004 at 13:15
Here in Jersey
1999 one to P/O (Sous/Lt) Bernard W M Scheidhauer (FFAF) Spitfire EN830 of 131 “County of Kent” Sqn, crash landed 18 Nov 42, shot by the Gestapo 30 Mar 44.
2002 Sqn Ldr Robert S Woodard DFC and W/O Donald B McPhail (RCAF) Whirlwinds of 263 “Fellowship of the Bellows” Sqn both shot down on 7 Dec 1942.
Planned for Sept 2004 Sqn Ldr Henri Gonay DFC (FBAF) Typhoon of 263 Sqn, shot down June 1944.
By: Snapper - 16th February 2004 at 13:06
In Waremme, Belgium in September 2003 a memorial was unveiled to 609 Squadron (some link with Jean de Selys Longchamps).
A 609 pilot, Mike Shelton, is having a memorial unveiled in his honour in northern France on the 29th February by Joss Leclerq, who has done, I think, 3 others so far.
Abnother 609 pilot, Francois de Spirlet will have a memorial bench unveiled to him on 11th July at 9am at the Red Lion at Whittlesford.
There are more unveiled every year, and it is very pleasing to be able to add to them.
Sign In
February 16, 2004 at 11:53 am