Stirling III EH955 crashed near Jenning 19 April1944.
As a result of being contacted through WIX by Mike Constantine of New Zealand about my cousin John Mulligan (RCAF). On April 23 at a memorial service in Gram Denmark the granddaughter of one of the surviving crew members, John McFarland of Belfast Ireland, read the following:
The crew of this aircraft came from all around the world – from England, from Ireland, from Canada and from New Zealand. They flew in the 75th (New Zealand) Squadron of the Royal Air Force, and a large number of the men in the Squadron were from that country.
The pilot and commander of the aircraft was Pilot Officer James Murray. Four siblings, three brothers and one sister, from his family saw service during World War 2, with the three brothers paying the ultimate sacrifice, here in Denmark, in Crete and in Egypt.
I have been asked by the Murray family to read this short message –
“The Murray Family greatly appreciate the recognition and respect that the people of Gram gave and continue to give to our uncle, Henry James Murray, and to the other airmen of Stirling EH955. We are honoured to see how they continue to be remembered and how their last resting place is cared for to this day, and we also extend our thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It gives us all real comfort to know that Henry James lies at peace in your town. Our sincere thanks to you all, and best wishes from New Zealand.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Murray family today, and for the other families in New Zealand, particularly when they remember their dead on ANZAC Day, their national day of memorial on the 25th April. Among them will be Ron Irwin, Margaret Collins and Kathy Wright, the children of Gordon Irwin, the wireless operator, and Cynthia Hill, the widow of the bomb aimer, Douglas Hill. Both these crew members survived the attack on the plane, spent the rest of the war as prisoners, and returned to New Zealand and sadly are no longer with us.
We also remember the Kahler family, and particularly flight engineer Hyman’s sister Miriam Cohen, who is a frequent visitor to this graveyard. Unfortunately the Passover festival has prevented her attendance today, but she sends her thanks to the people of Gram.
Clifford Mulligan from Canada, brother of air gunner John Mulligan, has asked that, on behalf of the Mulligan family, we thank the people of Gram past and present along with the RAF for this lovely remembrance service.
These four young men now rest together – from all parts of the British Commonwealth, both Jew and Gentile – and all the families thank you the people of Gram for the love and dedication you have shown in remembering their sacrifice and preserving their memory.
I would like to conclude with the words of another young pilot, John Magee, like John Mulligan who is buried here, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. John Magee died in December 1941. He wrote
“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”
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