News-Info-Alerts

Re: Gone But Not Forgotten

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: December 01, 2002

"Airman's widow attends funeral of wartime crew

Frank O’Donnell
fodonnell@scotsman.com
A SCOTS widow whose husband survived a Second World War air crash is to travel to Holland to bury his fellow crewmen who died during the mission.

Howard Hoddinott was one of two airmen who escaped death after their bomber was shot down by a German fighter as they returned from a raid on Dortmund in May 1943.

Three crew were killed when their Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) plane crashed on waterlogged polder land in Holland.

Although the pilot’s body was recovered at the time, the bodies of the two other men have remained undisturbed for almost 60 years.

Now, after the intervention of Dutch enthusiasts, the crew of the bomber will finally get recognition by being buried with full military honours. One of the most important guests at the event will be Jan Hoddinott, 80, from Edinburgh, who will fly to Wilnis to meet the families of the crew for the first time.

Mrs Hoddinott spoke yesterday of how proud her husband, who died three years ago, would have been to have been able to honour his former colleagues.

"Howard would have been very proud to see this day," Mrs Hoddinott said. "He never spoke much about his comrades, but I know that he thought about them all of the time.

"It made him very sad that they were never found, so I know he would have been glad his comrades are finally going to be buried with full honours."

The men were part of an RCAF mission which set out from Dalton, Yorkshire, on a mass bombing raid over Germany. More than 600 aircraft took part. The wreckage was treated as a war grave until a group of fundraisers generated enough money to recover the Wellington HE727 and the bodies of the two gunners.

Although Mr Hoddinott, a volunteer reserve sergeant with the RAF, parachuted to safety, he was picked up by the German army and spent three years as a prisoner of war in Poland.

The couple, who became friends in 1940 after meeting in East Lothian, were reunited after the war. They became engaged on VJ Day, 17 August 1945, in Edinburgh.

Mr Hoddinott retrained as a teacher and worked at Gilmerton Primary School in the city.

Sue Raftree, an RAF officer in charge of tracing family members, said: "The Canadian relatives are very relieved that they finally have closure and can end that chapter of events."

 ©2002 scotsman"