Four airmen who lost their lives when their Lancaster bomber crashed in Germany in December 1944 have been identified after an 82-year search. Their graves, previously marked 'unknown' at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Venray War Cemetery in the Netherlands, were rededicated today.
The identified crew members are Flying Officer (Fg Off) Leslie Markland Hough of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Pilot Officer (Plt Off) John Henry Tales of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), Sergeant (Sgt) Henry Charles Burnside RAFVR, and Sgt John Lawson RAFVR. Post-war administrative errors had led to their remains being unidentified for decades.
On 8 December 1944, Lancaster PD374 of No. 218 Squadron RAF departed RAF Methwold in Norfolk as part of a mission to attack the Neerbeck oil plant in Homberg, Germany. Three of the seven-man crew escaped by parachute and became Prisoners of War, while the other four died.
JCCC Caseworker, Tracey Bowers, noted the poignancy of the occasion with families present and interacting with local community members who had adopted the graves. Relatives of the identified airmen, including John Tales, nephew of Plt Off Tales, and Thurston Lawson, nephew of Sgt Lawson, attended the service.