US wartime pilot honoured at zoo crash site

A memorial service has been held to honour an American pilot who lost his life in an air crash 82 years ago.

Major Glenn Hagenbuch was training other US pilots in the UK after he carried out 25 missions against Nazi Germany during World War Two.

For decades, his family did not know exactly where his plane had crashed, until a chance meeting with a zookeeper confirmed the spot near Whipsnade in Bedfordshire.

"His story was incomplete for a long time, now it's complete and we've said our goodbyes," said Major Hagenbuch's nephew, David Hagenbuch.

He said Whipsnade Parish Council had "done a wonderful job" of putting together the memorial service.

Mr Hagenbuch grew up in Illinois on the same farm as his uncle – who he never got the chance to meet.

"We tended the same soil," he said.

"He had a love of flying, and he signed up to fly before the US joined the war.

"He could see what was happening in England, and he thought: 'War's coming, I want to be prepared'.

"So he got his wings, and the rest is history."

Major Hagenbuch was among the first crews of heavy bombers that flew across the Atlantic to join the Allies.

He survived 25 missions before being stood down from combat duties, as per US policy, and remained in England to train replacement crews.

Ken France, chairman of the parish council, said Major Hagenbuch was stationed at Bovingdon in Hertfordshire.

"Unfortunately, he was flying a different aircraft - a single-seater - as a way of getting around East Anglia.

"It developed engine trouble and came down in the garden of the Women's Land Army, which was then in Whipsnade."

Mark Strong, 68, recalls his uncle Melvin talking about losing his younger brother Glenn.

"Uncle Melvin showed me a scrapbook about Major Glenn, so I wanted to find the crash site," he said.

"On a visit to England 17 years ago, we thought we had found it - but later I realised I'd misread the crash report.

"We came back recently to the zookeeper's house area, and ran into a zookeeper called Donovan. His mouth dropped and he said 'Oh my gosh, it's true.'

"They knew where the site was, but not who it was who had crashed there."

Mr Strong said that seeing his uncle talk about his brother, "I could feel his pain and loss".

"Today's memorial is some healing of that, vicariously for my uncle," he said.

"I'm so thankful to the folks of the UK and Whipsnade."

Mr France added: "We feel the major did a fantastic service, as many people did during the war.

"It's our honour to make this contribution to history and maybe form some kind of closure for the family."

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