Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight

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RAF4EVER
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Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight

Post by RAF4EVER »

A London-born WW2 pilot has been buried, 78 years after he was killed in action.

Flt Sgt William Robert Stephen Hurrell, from East Ham, died when his RAF Typhoon was hit by an enemy plane over Arnhem in September 1944.

His remains were discovered in 2019 after Dutch authorities excavated the crash site on farmland near the village of Eefde, Lochem in the Netherlands.

He was buried at Jonkerbos War Cemetery in the Netherlands.

The pilot was flying in a formation of six aircraft on an armed reconnaissance north of Arnhem when they were attacked by up to 60 enemy fighter planes.

The service was attended by members of Flt Sgt Hurrell's family, who had travelled from Australia, representatives of the RAF, the British Embassy in the Netherlands, and dignitaries from the municipality of Lochem.
His great niece Brydie Hurrell, said: "We grew up knowing that Bill was shot down at the end of the war and that his parents had never found him. We knew he was in the Netherlands - we just weren't sure where exactly.

"When we heard about the salvage project we were over the moon. Representing the rest of my family back home means a lot.

"Bill's parents and his brother, my grandfather, died never knowing where he was, but we now have closure for them and for ourselves."
Tracey Bowers, of the Ministry of Defence, said: "It has been an absolute privilege to arrange this ceremony for Flt Sgt William Hurrell and I am grateful for the help given by the community of Lochem.

"I am honoured to stand alongside his military and blood family to pay him this final tribute."

After leaving Downham Market, Norfolk, on 29 March 1943 for a raid on Berlin, the group's flight was designated "missing believed killed".

The crash site was later located in Lake Markermeer and, in 2020, the remains were removed.

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Re: Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight

Post by cabbage »

After leaving Downham Market, Norfolk, on 29 March 1943 for a raid on Berlin, the group's flight was designated "missing believed killed".

The crash site was later located in Lake Markermeer and, in 2020, the remains were removed.
[/quote]

There is something wrong with this part of the news. The first part says he was shot down in 1944, near Arnhem, in a
Typhoon, whereas the above piece clearly refers to an earlier loss, almost certainly a heavy bomber (Stirling, Halifax, or Lancaster).

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aviodromefriend
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Re: Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight

Post by aviodromefriend »

Also, Lochem is not exactly Arnhem, or close to it, and more than half the country seperated from Markermeer.
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RAF4EVER
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Re: Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight

Post by RAF4EVER »

I took this article from the BBC

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Seahornet
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Re: Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight

Post by Seahornet »

RAF4EVER wrote:
Mon 03 Oct 2022, 6:15 am
I took this article from the BBC
Indeed, it's the BBC news item that seems to have confused two different stories.

The orginal news release from the MoD is here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brit ... tal-flight


...And heres the 'other' story, about a Stirling crew (on the money, cabbage!), lost in 1943...

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ww2- ... etherlands

Both stories are re-burials of WWII RAF crews at Jonkerbos in the Netherlands, and only one day apart, so I guess the confusion is understandable....
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