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

Emily talte om de andre besætningsmedlemmer fra
 Stirling EH955:
Besætningen på dette fly kom fra hele verden - fra England, fra Irland, fra Canada og fra New Zealand. De fløj i 75 (New
Zealand) Squadron, the Royal Air Force, og et stort antal
mænd i den Squadron var fra det land.
Pilot og chef på flyet var Pilot Officer James Murray. Fire søskende, tre brødre og en søster, fra hans familie gjorde
tjeneste under 2. Verdenskrig. De tre brødre betalte den
højeste pris, her i Danmark, på Kreta og i Ægypten.
Familien Murray har bedt mig læse dette korte budskab:
"Familien Murray sætter stor pris på den anerkendelse og
respekt som folk i Gram viste og stadig viser vores onkel,
Henry James Murray, og de andre flyvere fra Stirling EH955.
Vi er beærede over at se hvordan de fortsat mindes og hvordan deres sidste hvilested passes til i dag, og vi takker også
Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Det gives os alle en virkelig trøst at vide, at Henry James
er stedt til hvil i jeres by. Vor oprigtigste tak til jer alle,
og alle gode ønsker fra New Zealand."
Vore tanker og bønner er med familien Murray i dag, og med
de andre familier i New Zealand, særligt når de husker deres
døde på ANZAC dagen, deres nationale mindedag den 25. april. Blandt dem vil være Ron Irwin, Margaret Collins og Kathy
Wright, børn af Gordon Irwin, telegrafisten, og Cynthia Hill,
enken efter bombeskytte Douglas Hill. Begge disse besætningsmedlemmer overlevede angrebet på flyet, tilbragte resten af krigen som krigsfanger, vendte tilbage til New Zealand og trist nok er de ikke mere blandt os.
Vi mindes også familien Kahler og især flyvemaskinist Hymans søster Miriam Cohen, som ofte gæster denne kirkegård. Uheldigvis har påskefesten forhindret hende i
at være her i dag, men hun sender sin tak til folk i Gram.
Clifford Mulligan fra Canada, bror til skytte John Mulligan, har bedt os om på vegne af familien Mulligan at takke folk i Gram før og nu sammen med RAF for denne
dejlige mindegudstjeneste.
Disse fire unge mænd hviler nu sammen - fra alle dele af det britiske statssamfund, både jødisk og ikke-jødiske - og alle familierne takker jer folk i Gram for den
kærlighed og pligttroskab I har vist ved at mindes deres offer og bevare mindet om dem.
Jeg vil gerne slutte med ordene fra en anden ung pilot, John Magee, som John Mulligan der er begravet her også fra Royal Canadian Air Force.  
John Magee døde i december 1941. Han skrev:
“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.”

Emily talked about the other members of the crew of Stirling EH955:

The crew of this aircraft came from all around the world – from England, from Ireland, from Canada and from New Zealand. They flew in 75 (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,
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.”