Gram 23 April 2014   1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5          Stirling EH955                          Updated:  12 MAY 2014

Flight Lieutenant Ben Wallis RAF lagde en krans fra
United Kingdom, chefen for forsvarsstaben
på vegne af Hendes Majestæts væbnede styrker.
Senere holdt han denne tale:
Mine damer og herrer, ærede gæster.
Tak for at invitere mig her i dag og for at give mig mulighed for
at sige et par ord på vegne af Den Britiske Ambassade og
Royal Air Force.
Det er en ære og et privilegium at overvære højtideligheden,
hvor vi samles for at hylde den tapre besætning fra EH955,
75 Squadron, Royal Air Force, almindeligt kendt som
New Zealand squadron.
De blev skudt ned den 19. april 1944 for 70 år siden og de gav
på den måde deres liv i kampen for at holde Europa frit.
Selv om de hviler i fremmed jord, skal de ofre denne tapre besætning bragte aldrig blive glemt.
Den omtalte nat havde besætningen meldt sig frivilligt til en
minelægningsoperation i Kiel Bugt. Efter afsluttet opgave var
de på vej tilbage til England, da de blev angrebet og skudt ned
af en tysk natjager.
Piloten, flyvemaskinisten og agterskytten blev fundet døde i vraget. Rygskytten sprang ud med faldskærm, men den åbnede
sig ikke op og han døde i faldet. Bombeskytten, telegrafisten
og navigatøren sprang alle ud sikkert med faldskærm, men de
blev alle hurtigt indfanget af nazisterne.
Beboerne i Gram bjergede ligene og lagde dem til hvile på
Gram Kirkegård i ly af mørket.
På vegne af United Kingdoms chef for forsvarsstaben vil jeg
også gerne udtrykke respekt og taknemlighed over for folk i Gram og omegn for hvad der blev gjort for at bjerge ligene fra besætningen, for at lægge dem til hvile og for at ære og mindes deres offer helt til i dag.
Derfor mener jeg det må være passende for mig at afslutte med nogle få linjer fra det berømte digt "For de faldne" skrevet af Laurence Binyon:
"De skal ikke blive gamle, som vi der er tilbage bliver gamle. Alderen skal ikke tynge dem, eller årene nedbryde dem.
Når solen går ned, og om morgenen, vil vi huske dem."

Flight Lieutenant Ben Wallis RAF laid a wreath from The United Kingdom, Chief of Defence Staff on behalf of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

Later he delivered this speech:

Ladies, Gentlemen and Honoured Guests

Thank you for inviting me here today and for allowing me the opportunity to say a few words on behalf of he British embassy and the Royal Air Force.

It is an honour and a privilege to attend the ceremony as we gather to pay tribute to the gallant aircrew of EH955, 75 Squadron, Royal Air Force, commonly known
as the New Zealand squadron.

They were shot down early on the 19th April 1944, nearly 70 years ago to the day and so gave their lives in the fight to keep Europe free. Though they rest in foreign
fields the sacrifices made by this brave crew shall never be forgotten.

On the night in question the crew had volunteered for a mine laying operation in Kiel Bay.   Upon completion of the mission they were returning to England when
attacked and shot down by a German night fighter.

The pilot, flight engineer and rear gunner were found dead in the wreckage.   The mid upper gunner parachuted out but his parachute failed to open and he died in
the fall. The bomb aimer, wireless operator and navigator all parachuted out safely, although all were quickly rounded up by the Nazis.

The villagers of Gram recovered the bodies and laid them to rest in Gram cemetery under the cover of darkness.

On behalf of the United Kingdom’s Chief of Defence Staff, I would also like to pay respect and to express gratitude to the people of Gram and the surrounding area
for what was done to recover the bodies of the aircrew, for laying them to rest and for honouring and remembering their sacrifice up until the present day.

Therefore, I think it is fitting if I conclude with a few lines from the famous poem “For the Fallen” written by Laurence Binyon:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
And at the going down of the sun, and in the morning, We will remember them.