Families of WW2 air crash victims praise memorial

Relatives of airmen who died in a plane crash in World War Two said it was a great honour to finally have a memorial dedicated to them.

Caroline Barazesh, the niece of Sgt Harry Clarke, who travelled from Maryland in the United States for the unveiling at St Mary's Church in Northill, in Bedfordshire on Sunday, said the family finally had closure.

The accident happened during a 600 mile training flight that had taken off from RAF Oulton in Norfolk.

Clarke along with Pilot Officer John Homfray Ellis, Sgt George Horton and Sgt William Luney, died instantly when their RAF bomber crashed near the hamlet of Budna in the parish of Northill after a mechanical failure, in April 1942.

Clarke was just 21 when he died and Barazesh's mother thought her brother had gone "missing in action".

She said he "absolutely loved being a part of the RAF, and was so proud to serve his country".

"We did not know [my uncle] had a grave," she added.

Barazesh said it was a special moment to meet the families of the other airmen as she did not know much about them until recently.

She hoped the ceremony, led by the Right Reverend Richard Atkinson, Bishop of Bedford, gave them "closure as well".

"It is an amazing thing to have the memorial in the church, and we are so grateful to the community for making it happen," Barazesh added.

The service was attended by about 200 people including dignitaries.

Greg Horsford, a former police superintendent based at Luton, made it his mission to raise awareness of the airmen's story.

He spent years tracking down both their graves and surviving relatives.

Horsford said their story had "been all but lost for the past 80 years with no physical memorial dedicated to the four young fliers".

"The stone will then be in place for the anniversary on April 1," Horsford said.

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