The grave of the English in Nørreskoven Als
It wasn't just British airmen who were buried - the 14 crew members were from England, Australia and Canada.
It is the night between 15 and 16 September 1944. After a successful bombing raid over Kiel, the two Halifax planes are on their way home to their bases in England when they apparently collide over Nørreskoven Als and crash.
Each of the planes has a crew of 7 men and all 14 men die in the explosions. The German occupying troops collect a number of body parts and have them identified as far as possible, after which they are transported to Aabenraa and buried in the Allied cemetery.
However, forester Angelo and some local residents found more remains around the area, which they buried in a mound and marked with a propeller blade. To this day, the mound is known as the grave of the English and although the remains were moved to Aabenraa Cemetery after the war ended, a small wreath-laying ceremony is held every year.
From Driffield Air Station in Yourkshire, as part of R.A.A.F. Squadron 466,
aboard Halifax III MZ 915:
F/Lt. Alexander Hutchinson, RAF (pilot) - 27 years
F/Sgt. Clive William Thomson, RAAF (navigator) - 23 years
F/Sgt. Keith Courtney Donald, RAAF (radio operator) - 21 years
Sgt. William Henry Francis, RAF (machine gunner) - 19 years
Sgt. John Traill Leith, RAF (Bomber) - 19 years
Sgt. Benjamin D.M. Warren, RAF (aircraft engineer) - 20 years old
Sgt. James Gill, RAF (machine gunner and radio operator) - age unknown.
From the air station at East Moor, Yourkshire, as part of R.C.A.F. Squadron 432,
aboard Halifax VII NP 719:
P/O James Cornelius Gallagher, RCAF (pilot) - age 32
F/O Joseph Edouard Gerard Leblanc, RCAF (navigator) 23 years
P/O Dermot Reagh McCarthy, RCAF (machine gunner) 26 years
P/O Charles David Crowe, RCAF (machine gunner) - 22 years
P/O Joseph G.G. Andre Labelle, RCAF (radio operator and machine gunner) - 24 years
P/O Hugh Norman McLeod, RCAF (Bomber) - 21 years
Sgt. Charles Frederick Gill, RAF (aircraft engineer) - age unknown.