Killed RAF airmen laid to rest 79 years after crash

All seven crew of Stirling BK716 were killed when their plane was shot down in 1943

The remains of seven RAF and RCAF servicemen have been laid to rest 79 years after they were killed in a crash after police helped tracked down relatives.

The wreckage of Stirling BK716 was discovered in Lake Markermeer, near Amsterdam, in 2020, having been shot down in 1943.

Local historians contacted Durham Police to help find the relatives of two of the airmen from County Durham.

Sgt Paul Mawson from Consett said it was a "genuine honour" to find them.

The airmen have been buried at Jonkerbos military cemetery in Nijmegen

Killed RAF airmen laid to rest 79 years after crash

He was invited to attend the interment ceremony at Jonkerbos military cemetery in Nijmegen on Wednesday along with descendants of the five British and two Canadian airmen.

Working in his spare time, the officer managed to find surviving families of Charles Armstrong Bell, originally from Langley Park, and Sgt Ronald Kennedy, also from County Durham.

One of those he found was Joyce Stout, Mr Bell's niece who was two years old when he disappeared.

She said the burial, which she attended, was "closure" and she was "so pleased he was found".

Joyce Stout said seeing her uncle finally buried was closure

He was praised by the Dutch authorities with Lilian van Mourik, programme manager organising the commemoration, saying: "We would like to express our thanks for the amazing detective work he has done.

"It is incredible that after nearly 80 years, people like [Mr] Mawson are willing to go the extra mile in helping family members and providing them with answers to what happened to their loved ones."

Sgt Paul Mawson tracked down the families of two of the airmen in County Durham

Mr Mawson, who now works at the control room at force headquarters in Durham, said: "It was really nice to receive the recognition, but the most important thing to me is that these young men can be laid to rest with their families around them - and to be able to stand alongside the families at that emotional moment is a genuine honour."

A memorial to the crew was unveiled in the Netherlands in 2021 and Mr Mawson received a commendation from the Bomber Command Museum of Canada for his work in tracing the families.

Correction October 5: This story was edited to report that local historians and not the Dutch authorities contacted Durham Police.

Update October 18: This story was updated to include that two of the aircrew were in the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force).