Lone tells the story       Lone tells the story to brianfratarm, see Lone fortæller      På dansk             Updated:  25 MAR 2020
Tarm 2020*  Englændergraven / British War Graves * Lancaster ME449 * Tarm 2015
 

Brian: Today we are gathered at the memorial ceremony at “Englændergraven”, and Lone, can you tell the story, just in a few words?

Lone: Yes, the reason why we are gathered here today on 12 March is that 75 years ago an
English bomber crashed after having planted mines in the Sound. It was shot down by a German
night fighter, and two airmen died, were fetched by Danes at Tarm Hospital and later by the Germans placed in a grave out here, that we now know as the “Englændergraven”.



There were also five crew members who survived the crash, and they were helped by the Danish resistance movement to escape to Sweden, and then they came back to England.

So today we have representatives and family members of all seven crew members present to remember the crash and remember the two airmen who died 75 years ago.

Brian: The five crew members got help on farms in the Tarm area?

Lone: Yes, the five survivors had three different routes of evasion out of Denmark. Eventually one of them came to a hiding place in Ølgod, and from there he was helped by the resistance movement directly to Sweden.

Two others came to the same place, but at a different time from the first of them, and then there were


two who walked about for many days from farm to farm, and the got help from quite a number of local Danes, and then they walked towards the Herning area, where they finally met the resistance movement, so they had a long journey home. Altogether they took three weeks
to get back to England.

Brian: Have you experienced how all five of them managed to get to safety in Sweden without in
any way to be taken by the Germans?

Lone: Yes, with a bit of luck but also with much help by brave local Danes all of the way. Both members of the resistance movement that I have mentioned, but also just people in the area who helped.

   Plant mines? Gardening operations?
 See explanation at Minelaying areas.
 LAN ME449 had dropped mines in the "Kullen Sound", N of  
 Nasturtium between Denmark and Sweden, see  p409MACR.

See Account by Knud Raunkjær about the crash and more.

Notice the Danish memorial stone between Porter and Morris.

 Altogether 92 Allied airmen made it to Sweden - all of them with  
 assistance from the Danish resistance movement - none without! 

 

 Foster had his identity carefully checked.

 Slater and Fairclough made it to Copenhagen. Their stay there   
 coincided with the Shell House Attack, the Gestapo HQ, see
 Planes: Shell House and there About the Shell House Attack.
 Source: Group Captain Stan Slater - obituary in The Telegraph.


 Mitchell and Bertie made their way through Denmark carefully 
 described on
 Lancaster ME449 Shot down in Denmark                  
 by Gail R. Michener. the daughter of Stoney Mitchell.

 You might see
 TV
: To Tarm with thanks - 70 years later  TV/MIDT-VEST
 12 MAR 2015 an extra time.
 Notice how Dorthea Madsen offered food and rest without knowing
 a word of English.