Al R and all those that have contributed.
Thanks for bringing this to the attention of PPRuNers.
We begged the Daily Telegraph not to publish that report as it jeopardises the aims of the expedition. They were more interested in a story they could publish than the outcome to the crew.
Needless to say I can’t go into it too much detail about the expedition and the outcome but I will spell out a few points.
The Malaysians found a crashed aircraft in the mountains and reported it as KL654. The location of the crash site had been contested by the MoD and the government as KL654 was reported lost at sea! Despite the Malaysians bringing back proof, the UK constantly denied it was KL654. They utterly refused to investigate. Eventually the evidence was overwhelming and they conceded that it was KL654.
They sent out the Defence Attaché and his Warrant officer to investigate – neither were aviation trained and both unqualified to make an assessment. They scraped down 6 inches of soil and covered an area 2 metres x 2 metres. They found personal items of the crew including a dog tag and a bone fragment. A consultant anthropologist said the bone was proven not to be animal and was consistent with the only other option – human. It couldn’t be DNA tested due to its size and state. The MoD and government refused to accept it as human and stated that the bones should have decayed by now, or would have been eaten by the wild animals? They closed the case.
Visit after visit by the Malaysians (when they could find it) proved that items of the aircraft were being stolen and the ground where the men were believed to be was being repeatedly dug up by treasure hunters. The men could not rest and the relatives of the crew asked in the Houses of Parliament if the MoD would recover them. The MoD answer was simple: we have done a thorough investigation of the site and there is nothing left. (They dug 2m x 2m and the aircraft was 110 feet wide, 66 feet long and 17 feet tall!) This closed the door on the relatives.
Clayton and I were asked by NESA if we would do the job for the relatives ourselves and pay our own way.
I dug into the government and MoD to see if what I was being presented was the truth and to see if I could get any assistance. I was both shocked and stunned by what I was told. British Forces left behind after in foreign countries are no longer the responsibility of the British Government.
I asked what their position was on the fact that a bone had been found and I got the same fobbing off. They would not actively look for any of our men even if one was reported. They would only act if the host nation could prove that it was one of ours. I was told by one Malaysian official that they were told by the Brits “if you don’t find a whole skeleton don’t call us. If you do and you can prove it’s ours we’ll assist in the burial.”
They said there would be no funding, no manpower and no equipment but wished us luck.
It cost us a bob or two but we’ve been and we’ve done it. The men are now safe and awaiting the next step. We’re just waiting for a few final reports to come through.
We will be publishing our report to the relatives very soon. If they are in agreement, it will be delivered to all of the UK newspapers at the same as it’s sent to the Defence Minister and the MoD. It will highlight what our country’s policy is on those that are left behind in conflicts. It will shock and upset you. It will show the fibs that were told to our government by the MoD to save money. It will pose some very straight-forward questions to our government on what the relatives want the government to do with the 8 man crew.
Finally it will highlight what other nations do for their fallen and what we don’t.
Food for thought: Your child is asked to go to Afghanistan and fight for our country’s security. They do it bravely and suddenly disappear in firefight never be seen again. One day, the war will be over. What is our government’s policy on researching, studying and searching for him?
It’s up to the host nation to do it because they’re no longer our responsibility…
Please support us when it all comes out and assist us getting it into the public eye. Only public outrage can sway a government that worries more about being in power than they do for the troops that allow them the freedom to make policy.
Link this to whatever you can.
Ed Macy
Author and former Attack Pilot
Clayton Ford
British Police Detective