Remains of WW2 pilot buried 78 years after fatal flight
- Published
Flt Sgt Hurrell's remains were discovered in 2019 after Dutch authorities excavated the crash site on farmland near the village of Eefde, Lochem
A London-born WW2 pilot has been buried, 78 years after he was killed in action.
Flt Sgt William Robert Stephen Hurrell, from East Ham, died when his RAF Typhoon was hit by an enemy plane over Arnhem in September 1944.
His remains were discovered in 2019 after Dutch authorities excavated the crash site on farmland near the village of Eefde, Lochem in the Netherlands.
He was buried at Jonkerbos War Cemetery in the Netherlands.
The pilot was flying in a formation of six aircraft on an armed reconnaissance north of Arnhem when they were attacked by up to 60 enemy fighter planes.
The service was attended by members of Flt Sgt Hurrell's family, who had travelled from Australia, representatives of the RAF, the British Embassy in the Netherlands, and dignitaries from the municipality of Lochem.
His great niece Brydie Hurrell, said: "We grew up knowing that Bill was shot down at the end of the war and that his parents had never found him. We knew he was in the Netherlands - we just weren't sure where exactly.
"When we heard about the salvage project we were over the moon. Representing the rest of my family back home means a lot.
"Bill's parents and his brother, my grandfather, died never knowing where he was, but we now have closure for them and for ourselves."
The RAF's Queen's Colour Squadron remove the Union Flag from Flt Sgt Hurrell's coffin before laying him to rest
Tracey Bowers, of the Ministry of Defence, said: "It has been an absolute privilege to arrange this ceremony for Flt Sgt William Hurrell and I am grateful for the help given by the community of Lochem.
"I am honoured to stand alongside his military and blood family to pay him this final tribute."
After leaving Downham Market, Norfolk, on 29 March 1943 for a raid on Berlin, the group's flight was designated "missing believed killed".
The crash site was later located in Lake Markermeer and, in 2020, the remains were removed.