The RAF grave at Dejbjerg Cemetery

On the night of August 30, 1944, the Danish night sky was filled with planes, around 600 British planes were on their way home after a bombing raid in Germany. But not all of them made it home. Over Dejbjerg, a Lancaster was shot down by a German night fighter. It crashed and all eight crew members died.

The Wehrmacht was responsible for the simple burial of the eight airmen, which took place where the plane had crashed. The parish priest in Dejbjerg did not like this. He felt that the crew had not received the burial they deserved. After being refused permission by the Germans to hold a Christian funeral for the airmen, the priest, the parish priest, the vicar, the chief of police in Ringkøbing, several local residents and resistance fighters arranged a funeral.

First, the eight airmen were dug up and placed in four coffins. Then they were laid in a common grave in Dejbjerg Cemetery. At sunset on September 14, 1944, the priest conducted the funeral. Many people had turned up, and several had brought flowers from their gardens. When the Germans heard about the funeral, the parish priest, the parish clerk and the chairman of the parish council were taken in for questioning. However, they were released a few days later, partly because the Germans did not want to bother with the priest, who had to go to the toilet all the time!

The airmen's graves can be seen at Dejbjerg Cemetery. Today they are marked by a large stone honoring "The Glorious Dead" and six headstones of the standard British military type.