The Englishmen's graves - Ringkobing Fjord Museer

Englishmen's graves

On the way back to England after a mine-laying mission on March 12, 1945, an Avro Lancaster was shot down over western Jutland. Five of the seven crew members managed to parachute out. They survived - but two did not.

During the night, the Danish emergency services recovered the two airmen and transported them to Tarm Hospital. The next day, the Germans came and collected the two bodies from the hospital. Wagon driver Chr. Andersen was forced to drive the bodies out into a plantation, where the Germans dug a hole into which the bodies were thrown. Andersen was under strict orders not to tell anyone about the somewhat unusual funeral, which was intended to serve as a humiliation of the British enemies of the Nazi cause. But word of the 'funeral' had already spread, and just as the Germans were digging, the church bells began to ring. The gravedigger swore that he had rung down the sun...

When the message of freedom was sounded on May 4, 1945, a man from the town went to the anonymous grave and laid a square stone circle around it, placing two Danish flags and an RAF badge inside the stones.

On August 12, 1945, a real funeral was held at the burial site, about 800 Tarmboers showed up.

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