Cadets Honor Canadian WWII Airmen

Irvinestown, a small town located in County Fermanagh, serves as the burial site for 82 young airmen. Their graves, part of the Commonwealth war graves, are arranged in orderly lines within both the Roman Catholic church cemetery and the Church of Ireland cemetery. This collection represents the most extensive concentration of World War Two Air Force graves found in Northern Ireland. Over half of these deceased individuals are interred far from their native countries of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Their presence in this location is attributable to the region’s significant involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic, which occurred from 1941 to 1945. Lough Erne functioned as a base for RAF Coastal Command flying boats, which were tasked with safeguarding Allied shipping convoys traversing the Atlantic. A confidential agreement with the Republic of Ireland granted permission for these aircraft to operate within Irish airspace. They utilized a path known as the Donegal corridor, a direct route connecting Lough Erne to the Atlantic Ocean, thereby increasing the operational reach of the planes. In observance of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s centenary, army and air cadets from Enniskillen and Omagh, still in their youth, positioned a small Canadian flag and a poppy cross at each of the 38 Canadian burial sites. These young individuals are only slightly younger than the pilots, navigators, air gunners, and wireless operators whose particulars, including names and ages, are inscribed on the gravestones. Oliver Irwin, an air cadet from Omagh, commented: “When you see a Canadian person who’s died here you think ‘what happened?’, you want to learn their story.” Jacob Woods, an army cadet from Enniskillen, expressed his unawareness that such a large number of airmen serving in Northern Ireland originated from Canada. He stated: “As a young person I feel it’s important to remember all these young people who served their country and died, and gave the ultimate sacrifice.” Valeriya Baderdinova, an air cadet originally from Ukraine, also conveyed her astonishment at discovering the quantity of Canadian graves present. She remarked: “It’s really important to remember everyone who died for us and who served their own country.” Torin Aleksanderek, an air cadet from Poland, participated in a remembrance service for the first time. He conveyed: “I think it’s really important for the new generation to learn about these things, the tragedies, the brave men that were lost.” The 82 interments, however, constitute merely a portion of the overall personnel casualties from these bases. Numerous crews never came back, and others are believed to remain submerged beneath the lough’s waters. The remains of an aircraft, presumed to be a Catalina, were located in 2018 and are now safeguarded as a war grave. Ken Brundle, the Honorary Canadian Consul in Northern Ireland, additionally placed a wreath during the commemorative event held in Irvinestown. Mr. Brundle commented: “The Canadian government is very reliant upon local people conducting acts of remembrance but also looking after the war graves.” Among those interred in St. Tighernach’s Church of Ireland cemetery is pilot Terence Ramsay Hailstone. At the age of 20, he perished when his aircraft went down in a bog near Knocknagore in February 1945. Subsequent to this, Pat Keenan, a resident of Irvinestown, found Hailstone’s bracelet at the crash location. He forwarded images of his discovery to Canadian newspapers, and a reporter at the Vancouver Sun was acquainted with the pilot’s sister. Mr. Keenan recounted: “One morning I got a phone call from this lady and she was so excited.” He added: “She used to send me ten Canadian dollars to come here and put flowers on the grave, and I still do it.” Reflecting on the airmen, he stated: “They’re young men who came from a foreign country and died for our freedom.” He concluded by saying: “Irvinestown being the town that it is, it’s just part and parcel of Irvinestown.” This material is © 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external links is available.