21st June 2009
Gannes (Oise)
Ceremony in memory of the Lancaster MkI HK559
RAF 115 Squadron
En français
On 21st June 2009, a ceremony was held in Gannes to honour and perpetuate the memory of the seven Australian and British airmen who perished aboard the Lancaster HK-559 of 115 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in the night of 17th to 18th June 1944.
On this occasion, we had the honour of greeting three descendants of the crew members, who had come especially from England and Scotland: Anne Storer, daughter of Ernest E. Stapley, gunner, Christine Dawson, niece of Douglas A. Dawson, flight engineer, and Mike Duff, nephew of Peter Duff, wireless operator.
Also present from England was the current Wing Commander of 115 RAF Squadron, Nick Goodwyn, accompanied by two officers and members of the Finsbury Park Cycling Club of London, who made the bicycle trip from the Witchford air base and paid a special tribute to Ernest Stapley who was a member of the club before the war.
Coming from Belgium, members of an Association of Malines were keen to join this ceremony since a Lancaster of the same 115 RAF Squadron crashed in April 1944 in their area.
Former combatants, standard bearers and the audience gathered at the entrance of the Gannes cemetery awaiting the arrival of the authorities. Then the long procession went to the graves of the seven airmen to the sound of bagpipes.
Mr. Olivier De Beule, Mayor of Gannes, thanked the families of the airmen, the politicians and all those present on the occasion of this day of tribute. During his speech, he recalled the tragic events that occurred on the night of 17th to 18th June 1944.
"A few days ago, the President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, joined the President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the British and Canadian heads of government in commemorating the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy.
At dawn on 6 June 1944, on the sands of Omaha Beach, the liberation of France began after four years of occupation. Hope was reborn. But whilst the summer of 1944 saw the end of the nightmare and the liberation of almost all of France, it also saw the sacrifice of thousands of brave men during those final battles.
For blood was shed during those hot days of June, July and August 1944. The blood of the Resistance fighters, of course, but also that of the Allied soldiers, notably the Americans, British, Australians and New Zealanders, without whom victory would not have been possible. Blood was shed on the beaches of the English Channel, in the Normandy countryside, in the Vercors maquis, in our towns and in our countryside, but also in the skies. We forget this all too often.
Indeed, it was the Allied airmen who paid the heaviest price for the liberation of our department, as nearly 500 of them lost their lives in the skies over the Oise. Among these heroes were the seven men aboard the Lancaster bomber HK559. Three Australians, three Englishmen and one Scot.
Never forget their generosity and let us learn lessons.
Today, as in the past, the enemies of justice, humanism and freedom must never sense the slightest weakness on the part of our societies, which are founded on democratic ideals.
“The womb from which the hideous beast sprang is still fertile,” wrote Brecht. Let us therefore never lower our guard against all forms of fascism, against all forms of fundamentalism, wherever they may come from.
The sun can always rise, even after a night that is too dark and too long, and the final lesson of the Liberation is a message of hope to be held fast and never forgotten, so that Gannes may live, so that the Oise may live, and so that France, Europe and the free world may live.”
Mr. Rouhier, sub-prefect of Clermont, evoked particularly the parallel between the two "18th June", the one of 1940 and the one of 1944 :
"... In France, the 18th June is a highly symbolic date when talking about the Second World War. The 18th June is the symbol of the Resistance, the symbol of those who do not accept fascism, those who do not accept the reign of terror imposed on a country or on the whole world. It turns out that the aircraft crashed on the 18th June and I see this as a symbolic sign because on the 18th June was a French national Appeal by an officer of the Army, General de Gaulle. Also on the 18th June, four years later, British and Australian airmen who came to join the same fight, gave their lives... "
The long procession then headed to the corner of the rue de l'Epinette where the bomber crashed 65 years ago.
Emotionally, Anne Storer was invited to unveil the small stele recalling the sacrifice of the airmen. Mr. De Beule spoke a few words, recalling the terrible tragedy that took place at this place.
Wreaths were then laid at the small monument.
This day of remembrance ended in the school yard where a reception was organised. In the covered playground, an exhibition traced the history of the Lancaster HK-559 and the sacrifice of its seven crew members.
A day dedicated to the duty of memory. To never forget!
During the ceremony, Robert "Bob" Grécourt, a former pilot of the Free French Forces in the 342 Squadron "Lorraine" greatly honoured us with his presence.