Stirling III BF506 - At Bøgballe - Official visit 1985      På dansk       Updated:  05 JUN 2011

The delegation from Australia, New Zealand and Denmark laid wreaths on ANZAC Day
on 25 April 1985 at memorial stones to airmen from
LAN ME663 - Aale  * STI BF506   - Bøgballe * LAN W4330 - Vestbirk

Monument to 7 airmen from STI BF506 erected here by Mads Nielsen, Bøgballe.
See Visitors from New Zealand * At monument 2008 * and in 2011.

Newspaper cutting from 25 April 1985 presumably from Horsens Folkeblad
(Photo: Torben Glyum  Text: s'bro).
At the memorial stone just south of the Bøgballe Free School from the left:
The President of the Danish Branch of the RAF Association   Master of the Royal Hunt
G. H. Schaumburg, the Estate of Palstrup, the British Defence Attache Commander J. Curtis,
Royal Navy, and honorary member of the Australian Air Force Association Ole Kraul, Horsens.
Memorial ceremony on the occasion of the air crash
:


Visitors from Australia and New Zealand
laid wreaths at Bøgballe

The dead airmen were scattered around the crushed plane and German soldiers were on guard to prevent people from getting too close. It was quite ghoulish, an eye witness recalls today. (STI BF506 - Bøgballe - 7 airmen perished) (STI BF476 - Kragelund Fælled - 7 airmen survived)

This eye witness and other family members had come to see the two bombers that had been shot down by the Germans during the night. Even if it had been broad daylight for hours the bodies of the killed airmen had not yet been taken away. (See the crash site at Bøgballe and at Kragelund Fælled.AS)

The crash took place in the night between 20 and 21 April 1943, not far from Bøgballe Free School, and today at 9.15 hours it was commemorated in a wreath laying ceremony. The Australian Ambassador to Denmark A. F. Dingle, the Minister from the New Zealand Embassy in Brussels Rodger Farrel, the British Defence Attache Commander J. Curtis, RN, the President of the Danish Branch of the RAF Association   Master of the Royal Hunt G. H. Schaumburg, the Estate of Palstrup, and
honorary member of the Australian Air Force Association Ole Kraul, Horsens.

This is the first time these perished airmen are officially commemorated in Denmark. It takes place on 25 April ANZAC Day, as this is the national day of remembrance. (On 25 April 1915 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) suffered heavy losses in the Gallipolli Campaign. AS)

This is the 70th Commemoration, so this year also Denmark is included because about 100 airmen fell here during World War II. Most of them in Jutland and 26 of them are buried in the Horsens-Vejle area. (109 airmen from the RAAF and the RNZAF are buried in Denmark, more numbers on Airmen 1946. AS)

The representatives from Australia and Brædstrup met in Brædstrup and then the party drove to the memorial stone to fallen Australian airmen near Aale. Pupils from Aale School sang when the flags were hoisted and 4 wreaths were laid. Then the party went on to the memorial stone to airmen from New Zealand at Bøgballe. The two Ambassadors laid wreaths here. Finally the party went on to a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial stone to Australian airmen near Vestbirk.

At 10 a.m. there was a memorial service in Tønning Church with a sermon by the Reverend Hans Peter Parkov. Also the people who currently tend the memorials were invited.

The air crash at Bøgballe took place in the night between 20 and 21 April 1943 (Hitler's birthday). A bomber had been over Rostock and it was hit on the return flight. It crashed and exploded and all of the crew were killed.

In connection with the big fire after the explosion another plane force landed helped by the fiery glow from the first plane. All 7 airmen from this plane got out alive, but later they were captured by the German soldiers.