On 9 August 2014, I attended the 70th anniversary of the crash of a Royal Air Force airplane at Cugny, France. The plane was on a mission to support the French Resistance. None of the seven crew members survived. The village of Cugny has never forgotten the brave men who died in the crash on 9 August 1944. Each year a ceremony honoring the crew is held. The men rest in peace in the Cugny cemetery.
My good friend, John Grady also attended along with his wife Tracy and son Connor. John’s uncle, John Bruce Grady, a Canadian flying in the Royal Air Force was the navigator on the mission.
The ceremony was held at a monument near the crash site where John and a sister of one of the crew members laid a wreath.
The mayor and a resistance fighter, Mr. Roger Charbonnier gave speeches.
There were three retired paratroopers that jumped into the crash site carrying flags. They did a very good job of hitting the target considering the strong wind. I talked to them afterward and they told me they do about 40 jumps per year. I was impressed.
I had the honor and pleasure to talk with people who witnessed the events first-hand. Monsieur Charbonnier, now 90 years old was in the French Resistance and was a member of the unit that coordinated, received and distributed the equipment drops. He said he witnessed the plane being hit and going down and was the first one at the crash site that night. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do to help the crew. He was able to pull two bodies away from the wreckage before flames engulfed everything. He regrets not collecting personal effets of the airmen before the Germans quickly came and confiscated everything.
I asked him about his resistance activities and he said that he helped downed airmen make their way towards Paris.
I talked with a women who was only 9 years old at the time. She remembers her father taking the remains of the crew to the cemetery in a wagon. Her father made the coffins and in each one he put a bottle with a paper inside having the airman’s name and a prayer.
The following is the English translation of the mayor’s speech during the ceremony.
On 8 August 1944, at 11:45 PM, two Halifax bombers from the Tempsford air base, situated north of London, took off for the mission called “BOB 53″. This mission consisted of dropping containers of weapons and explosives to a unit of Resistance fighters directed by Captain Etienne Dromas. This group had successfully helped in saving more than 80 allied paratroopers from German capture and worked to send them back to England through their network.
The time of the flight was estimated to be a little more than four hours. Very precise navigation was required to find the small villages and then to fly in very low visibility to the drop zone that was situated in the “Grandes Beines”, between the villages of Villeselve and Guivry. Once the drop zone was found, the airplanes flew over at very low speed, around 210 kph and at only 120-150 meters of altitude. The time devoted to overfly the drop zone did not exceed ten to fifteen minutes.
The estimated time of arrival on the drop zone was between 1:52 AM and 1:58 AM. Resistance fighters were on the drop zone long before that time. They had heard a German plane overflying the drop zone, but they thought it had left when the two Halifax arrived. It was 2:09 AM when they decided to give the agreed upon signal to warn the airplanes. The first airplane, flown by Lieutenant Abecassis, began its descent when he saw the signal and dropped fifteen containers and 7 packages. While the plane climbed to leave, a morse signal was sent to inform the other Halifax. The pilot, Sergeant Nicholls received the signal and began his descent to the drop zone. As the plane approached the drop zone a German fighter plane fired on and hit the Halifax, setting it on fire. The plane crashed in the field behind where we stand. The entire crew of seven aviators was killed.
- Pilot, Joseph Williams Nicholls, 22 years old
- Navigator, John Bruce Grady, 26 years old
- Bomber, George Edwards Read, 28 years old
- Radio Operator, Anthony Albert Rivers, 23 years old
- Engineer, Brian Dean, 27 years old
- Dispatcher, Clifford George Bragg, 20 years old and on his first mission
- Rear Gunner, Ellis Markson, 38 years old
The day after, the bodies were put in numbered coffins and buried in the cemetery of Cugny. German forces had forbidden the inhabitants of Cugny to take part in the funerals. But when the moment came, all the inhabitants of the village were there in reverent silence right in front of the dumbfounded Germans and their henchmen from the Gestapo who could not say a word. A mountain of flowers was brought to the graves by the inhabitants to honor the dead allies.
After the war, the crew members were left to rest in peace in the small cemetery of Cugny.
In 1971, Mr. Jean Venet, Cugny’s mayor requested permission from Queen Elisabeth II to erect a monument by the road where the airplane crashed. This request was granted and the sculpted stone on which the names of all seven crew members are engraved remains to this day.
Seventy years, to the day, have passed, but we always think of these brave men who gave everything for our freedom.
I shall end with these words pronounced by President Obama during the commemorations of D-Day in Normandy on the 6th of June of this year.
Whenever the world makes you cynical, stop and think of these men. Whenever you lose hope, stop and think of these men.
After the ceremony at the monument, the group of about 100 people went to the cemetery and also laid a wreath at the graves.
A reception was held at the town hall where old photos were displayed along with a few remaining pieces of the aircraft.
Champagne was flowing in abundance.
In the town square some local re-enactors displayed their 2.5 ton truck and a jeep which were part of the D-Day invasion and were both still in very good condition. I chatted with the owners about their vehicles. They were very proud to show off all the original equipment, including the oil can and grease gun under the hood for example. Pic of myself, Connor and John.
