Plans to raise a Halifax II

[Andy Saunders]

If I may say so, I believe that the notion of such sites being "war graves" is simply something that has been engineered by the MOD, and Air Ministry before it, probably, to slip into the British psyche over many years via the news media and various public statements over many years. Let me explain! And no, I am not trying to be provocative.

My belief is that this could well have been a cynical attempt, originally, to cover the embarrassment and awkward questions raised of successive British governments in relation to many many thousands of "missing" aircrew around the world who have never been recovered. The fact of the matter is that when the MREU's stopped work c.1949 it was simply declared that the responsibility of the CWGC had been discharged by inscription of names of the missing on memorials such as Runnymede. In this respect, no criticism is intended or implied of the CWGC who are beyond reproach. Their commemoration through memorials is done, ultimately, at the behest of the government. Theirs is not the responsibility for recovery of the missing.

To the best of my knowledge Britain is the only country in the world who take the view that such sites are "war graves"....which, of course, they are not. One only has to look at the American stance to see such a difference in thinking.

It is a complex and emotive issue, with many different view points. However, it is the policy that I would question and criticise and most certainly not the MOD JCCC staff who do a magnificent job dealing with casualties when they are found on a reactive basis. Clearly, the UK is never going to get into a pro-active MOD recovery route and has got itself locked into a policy of not supporting recoveries of missing men stating that it supports a policy of non-disturbance. Unfortunately, the view of missing airmen's relatives (when casualties are found) is contrary to that viewpoint.

I have covered such cases in "Finding The Few" and "Finding The Foe" and look at wider issues and cases in the forthcoming "Finding The Fallen" which, I might add, has had 'official' input from both the UK and US perspectives.