'Lest We Forget'

Most people in the Parish will be aware that on the 27th August 1943 a Halifax Bomber crashed at Buda Farm, Langtree, killing the entire crew of seven - two Australians and five British airmen.  Almost 65 years have passed since that event and still no monument or plaque has been erected to honout the memories of those airmen.  Babies at the time of the crash are now drawing their state pension.  I was 14 at the time, and remember hearing the plane in distress, hearing the crash and seeing the late evening sky lit up by the burning wreckage.  I have recently visited crash sites in this area; one near Holsworthy, one at Clovelly, and one on the Tarka Trail near Bideford.  I have photographed the memorials and recorded the inscriptions.

It is time we, in this Parish, did something to honour these airmen.  They would have known sometime before the crash that they had little hope of survival, unable to find a suitable landing site and the plane breaking up in the air.  These brave airmen spent the last minutes of life in the air over our Parish, and died amid the wreckage and flames on the soil of our Parish.  The youngest was just 18 years old.

I believe the Parish hall would be a suitable site for a monument, either on the wall outside or on the ground.  The Parish hall is only a short distance from the crash site.  I would hope to get the backing of the Hall committee and the Parish Council.  I have the support of the Mid-Torridge Branch of the Royal British Legion, and Philip Jenkinson of Shebbear has promised to help in any way he can.  Philip was a Halifax crew member and survived being shot down over Germany during the war.

Some people may say we have a war memorial in the Parish - the Church Clock.  This is a memorial to the fallen of the Parish during the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars.  The crew of the Halifax were certainly not of this Parish.  Regarding the cost, until we have more details of materials, wording, etc, it is impossible to estimate; but I am sure the money can be raised.  Finally, it is my wish that the Parish Council will take responsibility for what is surely a Parish matter, not the responsibility of one person.

David Hill, Sunnyside, Langtree