German farmer demands cash for WWII bodies
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
German farmer demands cash for WWII bodies
Torygraph: German farmer demands cash for lost bodies
A German farmer is refusing to allow British families to recover the remains of crew members of a Lancaster bomber shot down during the Second World War - unless they pay him €7,500 (£5,080).
The families of the crew are furious at the farmer's demands and are refusing to pay. They say that the farmer, Horst Bender, must not be allowed to make a profit from allowing them to give their dead relatives a proper burial with full military honours. One relative described his demands as "shockingly greedy and insensitive".
Four British airmen and two Canadians were in the Lancaster MK1 bomber reported shot down over Germany. The bomber, marked EM-J with serial number PD216, was part of 207 squadron. It took off from Spilsby in Lincolnshire on August 25, 1944, heading for the German city of Darmstadt, but was shot down before it reached its destination.
Local people recovered body parts of three of the men and buried them in an unmarked grave. When Allied troops arrived in the area they moved the remains to a military cemetery - two in individual, named graves and one in a collective grave. But the rest of the remains and the aircraft were hidden under farmland in Geinsheim, near Darmstadt, until they were discovered by German historians in 2003.
The farmer gave permission for an excavation in 2005 but then suddenly demanded money. At first he wanted €5,000, but recently he put up the price to €7,500.
The Lancaster was piloted by Flt Lt Maurice Harding, with Sgt Leslie Gower as co-pilot. The other British crew were Flt Sgt Thomas Jones, Pilot Officer Maurice Savage and Sgt Hugh Hamilton. The Candian crew were Pilot Officer Stephen Sims and Flt Sgt Edward Kisilowsky.
The co-pilot's son, Terence Gower, 65, who lives in London, said that he wanted nothing more than to give a proper burial to the father he last saw when he was two-years-old. Mr Gower said: "It is my dearest wish and on the day it happens you can bet I will be will be standing in that field. I am waiting for the 'yes'."
The pilot's daughter, April Copeland, a management consultant, said she had always been unsure of her father's fate. "After the war my mother got a ring back from my father, and we were told that his body was probably one of the three that were recovered, but we never knew for sure," she said. "I visited the grave site but I never liked to ask too closely who was in there."
The pilot's widow, Audrey Ewing, who was 21 and three months pregnant with April when her husband died, said: "I visited my late husband's grave a couple of times but I never realised that most of the crew's remains were still buried in the field."
Officials at the British Embassy in Berlin have written to Mr Bender and local officials in an attempt to resolve the problem.
A spokesman said: "The families want a proper burial and we are keen to see their wishes carried out as soon as possible. But the farmer is refusing to allow us access unless he is paid. The families would like the aircraft to be excavated and any remains to be placed with the rest of the crew. They are adamant they don't want the farmer to profit from what was a family tragedy."
Mr Bender said he needed the money to cover the cost of returning the field to its original state after the remains had been dug up. "Everyone wants to come on my land and dig, but no one has offered any money to cover the damages," he said. "I have nothing against giving my permission, but the costs have got to be covered. I can't say how much it would cost without making a thorough estimate, but it will not be less than €7,500."
Mr Bender said that grave robbers had been on the land looking for souvenirs from the aircraft and he was "fed up" with people trespassing.
A German farmer is refusing to allow British families to recover the remains of crew members of a Lancaster bomber shot down during the Second World War - unless they pay him €7,500 (£5,080).
The families of the crew are furious at the farmer's demands and are refusing to pay. They say that the farmer, Horst Bender, must not be allowed to make a profit from allowing them to give their dead relatives a proper burial with full military honours. One relative described his demands as "shockingly greedy and insensitive".
Four British airmen and two Canadians were in the Lancaster MK1 bomber reported shot down over Germany. The bomber, marked EM-J with serial number PD216, was part of 207 squadron. It took off from Spilsby in Lincolnshire on August 25, 1944, heading for the German city of Darmstadt, but was shot down before it reached its destination.
Local people recovered body parts of three of the men and buried them in an unmarked grave. When Allied troops arrived in the area they moved the remains to a military cemetery - two in individual, named graves and one in a collective grave. But the rest of the remains and the aircraft were hidden under farmland in Geinsheim, near Darmstadt, until they were discovered by German historians in 2003.
The farmer gave permission for an excavation in 2005 but then suddenly demanded money. At first he wanted €5,000, but recently he put up the price to €7,500.
The Lancaster was piloted by Flt Lt Maurice Harding, with Sgt Leslie Gower as co-pilot. The other British crew were Flt Sgt Thomas Jones, Pilot Officer Maurice Savage and Sgt Hugh Hamilton. The Candian crew were Pilot Officer Stephen Sims and Flt Sgt Edward Kisilowsky.
The co-pilot's son, Terence Gower, 65, who lives in London, said that he wanted nothing more than to give a proper burial to the father he last saw when he was two-years-old. Mr Gower said: "It is my dearest wish and on the day it happens you can bet I will be will be standing in that field. I am waiting for the 'yes'."
The pilot's daughter, April Copeland, a management consultant, said she had always been unsure of her father's fate. "After the war my mother got a ring back from my father, and we were told that his body was probably one of the three that were recovered, but we never knew for sure," she said. "I visited the grave site but I never liked to ask too closely who was in there."
The pilot's widow, Audrey Ewing, who was 21 and three months pregnant with April when her husband died, said: "I visited my late husband's grave a couple of times but I never realised that most of the crew's remains were still buried in the field."
Officials at the British Embassy in Berlin have written to Mr Bender and local officials in an attempt to resolve the problem.
A spokesman said: "The families want a proper burial and we are keen to see their wishes carried out as soon as possible. But the farmer is refusing to allow us access unless he is paid. The families would like the aircraft to be excavated and any remains to be placed with the rest of the crew. They are adamant they don't want the farmer to profit from what was a family tragedy."
Mr Bender said he needed the money to cover the cost of returning the field to its original state after the remains had been dug up. "Everyone wants to come on my land and dig, but no one has offered any money to cover the damages," he said. "I have nothing against giving my permission, but the costs have got to be covered. I can't say how much it would cost without making a thorough estimate, but it will not be less than €7,500."
Mr Bender said that grave robbers had been on the land looking for souvenirs from the aircraft and he was "fed up" with people trespassing.
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: london/UK
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Even if the bodies are recovered, don't be suprised if there is no help from the MOD regarding idenification.
If you read the book 619 the forgotten Squadron, it outlines the problem encountered with the MOD in the 70's.
I'll admit, I have a vested interest in that case, my father was the RAFP SNCO who went to site, and I was off school and went with him. We found the remains of 2 bodies, which the MOD refused to assist in identifying, and eventually had buried in the graves of Unknown Airmen. The MOD's attitude in that case stunk.
If you read the book 619 the forgotten Squadron, it outlines the problem encountered with the MOD in the 70's.
I'll admit, I have a vested interest in that case, my father was the RAFP SNCO who went to site, and I was off school and went with him. We found the remains of 2 bodies, which the MOD refused to assist in identifying, and eventually had buried in the graves of Unknown Airmen. The MOD's attitude in that case stunk.
