RAF crewmen laid to rest - 61 years later
By Steve Neale, UK
TWO Essex RAF crewman missing in action since 1944 were finally laid to rest on Thursday with his former colleagues.
Wireless Operator and Air Gunner Sgt John Burdett, 22, from Basildon, and Air Gunner Sgt Jack Boston, 22, from Leigh, were remembered at Berlin's Military Cemetery as the remains of the crew of the Halifax LW 430 bomber were buried.
Just one coffin draped in the Union Flag was lowered into the ground by members of the RAF's Queen's Colour Squadron as a bugler sounded the Last Post.
The men were found two years ago in a field south of Berlin, tangled in the wreckage of the craft brought down by Luftwaffe nightfighters.
About 25 relatives gathered for the ceremony in which the men were buried with full military honours.
Sgt Burdett's cousin, Walter Burdett, 85, of New Century, in Laindon, served in the Army during World War II.
He said: "It's a relief to know he's been laid to rest because of the service he done for his country."
The seven man Halifax crew included Pilot Officer William McLeod, 31, from Glasgow; Flight Engineer Sgt Angus Webb, 23, from Whitstable; Rear Gunner Sgt Ronald Turner, 28, from Monks Risborough, Bucks; Navigator Norman Cooper, 24, from Taunton; and Air Bomber Sgt Sidney Wheeler, from Bristol.
The burial was attended by Gunter Sinnecker, a Luftwaffe pilot from the squadron that shot down the Halifax. Relatives supported the move to invite him.
The men set off from RAF Leconfield in North Yorkshire, but strong winds blew the 1,000-strong formation of British bombers off course.
A total of 72 planes were shot down over enemy territory.
The Halifax LW 430 attempted an emergency landing after being hit by a Messerschmitt.
The bomber clipped the tops of trees and crashed, killing all on board.
The Messerschmitt pilot toured the crash site the following day. He was himself shot down and killed in the last months of the war.
Gillian Beresford, cousin of Sgt Boston, added: "I suppose we have to look at it as though they were just doing their job, and our chaps were doing theirs."
ŠTrinity Mirror Plc 2005, UK