Glider crash victims remembered on 80th anniversary

Serving service personnel standing to the left of the gathering for the memorial.
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Serving personnel attended the memorial on Sunday

  • Published

An 80th anniversary service has been held in memory of 23 men who died in a WWII glider crash.

On 17 September 1944, an RAF Airspeed Horsa glider broke apart in mid-air, minutes after taking off from RAF Keevil in Wiltshire and crashed near Paulton, North East Somerset.

Twenty-one Royal Engineers on their way to the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands were killed, along with two Glider Regiment pilots.

Hundreds of people, including members of the Royal Engineers, attended the memorial to honour the servicemen who died.

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Organiser Peter Yeates said the 2024 memorial was "extra special" for him as it would be the last under his stewardship

Peter Yeates, who has organised the event since the 1970s, has decided this will be the last year under his stewardship.

"This year was extra special. There are lots of memories now," he said.

The service is held annually, near a stone memorial to those who died.

Valerie Austin, whose father Sapper John Fernyhough was among the Royal Engineers killed, has been attending for the last 40 years.

"It's an honour for the boys and it means a lot to me and everyone else," she said.

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A photo of Valerie Austin as a baby was found in the wreckage of the glider

In 2023, a photo of Valerie as a baby carried by her father when he died was rediscovered, 79 years after it had originally been found in the wreckage of the glider.

The photo, with burnt edges, was presented to her at the 2023 memorial.

"Apparently this photograph had gone all the way to Canada, and it was found and brought back, and I've got it!" she told BBC West at this year's memorial.

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Hundreds of people attended the 2024 memorial service

This year's service was attended by local people, veterans and serving service personnel.

There are plans to refurbish the existing memorial next year.

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