Records of unknown airmen washed ashore

[Larry]

In WW2 there must have been more than a few occasions when human remains were washed up on the shores of France and Belgium, and presumably they were buried by the local authorities or the Germans as unknowns. So is there a list of these unknowns detailing when and where they were found and where they are buried?

[Alain57]

Hello Lary ,

I can give you some names off allied airman who washed up on the Belgian coast and are buried here in Belgium.

Greetings

Alain

[Larry]

Dear Alain,

Thanks for the reply.

The records I am after are for bodies that have been recovered from the sea and who have no identity.

For many years now I have been researching the loss of Blenheim P4832 of the RAF Special Duty Flight on 17th August 1941, and the fate of the crew, Flt Lt Douglas Rayment and Sgt Sadler. Although they were seen standing on the wing of their aircraft in the sea 15 miles off Cherbourg, they were never seen again.

A study of the sea tides suggests that their bodies would have been carried up the Channel so they have washed ashore in NW France or even Belgium many weeks later.

[Alex Smart]

Hi,
Just to note that the CWGC website has 17th July 41 for Rayment.Same for Sadler.
Air Britain P1000 -R9999 has 17/7/41 also for P4832.
Alex

[Larry]

Thanks Alex.

So I wonder if there are graves in the towns along the coast of Northern France which are marked as unknown, which are listed anywhere with burial dates. Perhaps I will have to visit them all!

[Hans Nauta]

Hello Larry,

I've no experience with graves at the Belgium and Frenche coastal towns, but with regard to my own area of research, province North-Holland, the Netherlands, I can add that about 10% of the graves at the coastal townd and villages are marked as unknown.

As far as I know there's no specific list of this group and the best way IMHO is to approach the Red Cross in both countries. They may hold the original burial records, including postwar remarks whether a washed ashore crew member was identified-or not. But that would mean that you've to consult eacht burial register of each coastal town or village.

Concerning further research it will be very difficult to determine the possible identity of an unknown airmen as the crash place, tides, currents, cause of death and state of the body in relation with eachother is a complex matter.

For instance, there would be a difference in the drifting of a body in the upper or lower layers of the sea (with different currents!) when the person has either drowned or died from cold exposure in the water...

Good luck!

Hans Nauta

[Fairlop]

Hi Larry,

Some years ago I have contacted a several Red Cross offices in France regarding my search for possible records of airmen which were killed over the land or who were washed ashore. Unfortunately no valuable info (if any) were sent to me.
From another good source I was informed these reports (only for France area ?) could be in possesion of Service Historique de l'armée de l'air in Vincennes.

Regards,
Michal

[micki]

Hi Larry,

Could you please confirm the date loss for the crew of P4832? If the correct date of loss is 17 July 1941, then you will probably find of interest to learn that an unknown R.A.F. Sgt is buried in Cherbourg cemetery and that the date of Death on his headstone is 21 July 1941.
Please let me know if I can help you in something from here.
Mickaël

[Larry]

Dear Mickael,

Thank you for your reply. Very interesting.

Blenheim P4832 of the Special Duty Flight was lost on 17th July 1941, while carrying out radar trials over the channel. It was seen to ditch 15 miles off Cherbourg. The two crew were seen standing on the wing but after that were never seen again.

It could be Sgt Sadler who was buried on 21st July 1941 but something tells me it is too soon for his body to be found without dog tags or any other bit of identity document. It could be that as this was not an operational flight that he did not bother with them, but I will leave this for others to comment as I do not know the RAF procedure.

It is possible the tags came off in the water so he could have remained as unknown.Obviously if a person remained in the sea for a long time I would expect their body to be hard to identify.

Is there any record to say if the body buried on 21st July was washed ashore or recovered at sea by the Germans or French Fishermen?