A former work colleauge posted on her Facebook page some details of her Great Uncle Flying Officer O G Horrigan who was killed during the war when his Whitley aircraft was shot down over Denmark, her story and that of her Great Uncle and his fellow aircrew and their continued rememberence should be shared with the followers of this remarkable thread.
FO O G Horrigan
War Graves Crew of Whitley N1383
Rememberence Stone Whitley N1383
5th May was the 75th anniversary of Danish Liberation. This year would have been my third visit to Denmark for the annual ceremony in a little village called Vadum where my Dad's uncle Owen Horrigan is buried, along with the other crew members from the Whitley MkV N1383, which was shot down by flak near Aalborg on 26th April 1940. On 5th May wreaths are laid and the last post is played at a graveside ceremony, and a remembrance service takes place in the beautiful village church opposite. This has taken place every year on Danish Liberation Day since the war ended, although we only found out in the last ten years or so that this happened at all. On our last visit (5 years ago on the 70th anniversary of liberation) we visited the crash site in a nearby farmer's field, for the unveiling of a memorial stone to the crew, along with a number of placards telling the stories of the airmen, and of the one surviving member of the crew, navigator Vincent Herbert Barr, who managed to parachute out and sought refuge in a nearby farmhouse, before becoming a prisoner of war. A local farming museum houses one of the Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk10 engines from my great uncle's plane, alongside an exhibition dedicated to the flight, the crewmen and the excavation of the plane. The other engine is exhibited in the Bangsbo museum in Frederikshavn.
This is a post of humble gratitude, to all the citizens of Vadum, Aalborg and beyond who continue to show such reverence and respect to all those who lost their lives over Danish soil and sea. We recognise how very fortunate we are to know where our loved ones are buried, and that their graves are so lovingly tended. We are grateful also to have so much knowledge about what happened, and see how their stories are kept alive by such compassionate and dedicated folk. We are also very grateful to be able to call many of these people our friends.
A nod of respect too to my Dad, who spent much of the first years of his retirement trying to find and make contact with the families of the other crew members, to let them know what happens in Vadum each year, and to ensure the photographs of all the crew were included in the exhibition and on the information placards at the crash site. During this process he found out that Vincent Barr was still alive, and met with him and his daughters to hear his story. Vincent then met my Grandma for the first time in 2012 at the unveiling of the Bomber Command memorial in Green Park, shortly before he passed away. 5 years ago we met with family members from all the crew, including Vincent's two daughters, for the memorial and celebrations in Vadum and Aalborg.
The graveside ceremony took place this year, along with 5 consecutive church services, with 10 people attending each service. The story of the crash and Vincent Barr's survival was broadcast on Danish television ten days ago, on the 80th anniversary of the crash: c. 10m30s into this link...
https://www.tv2nord.dk/arkiv/2020-04-26
There is also a 20 page chapter dedicated to Owen Horrigan and the crew of N1383 in John Hewitt's book 'Ireland's Aviator Heroes of World War II', which includes extracts of letters and flying records providing a real glimpse into life in the RAF, as well as accounts of the events surrounding the crash.