The shooting down of a British bomber in 1944 at Grættrup

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The shooting down of a British bomber in 1944: On the night between October 4 and 5, 1944, the German occupation forces shot down a British bomber over Salling. The plane was on a mine laying mission in the Oslofjord and Kattegat.

The crash

The plane crashed in Risgårde bank near Grættrup after being spotted by German radar and shot down by a fighter plane. Several of the soldiers managed to parachute out but only two survived.

On board the plane were 7 men. Two of them Kenneth Hunter and Douglas Arthur Patrick Snoxell were never found lost in the waves. Dennis Cahill was found dead in the sea and buried in Strandby. Norman Joseph Evans was found dead and buried in Aalestrup. John Derrick Harper was found dead and buried in Skive. Charles W. Vause and J. E. Fearn were both taken as prisoners of war. First taken to Nordre skole in Skive and then to prisoner of war camps, where they were held until they were liberated.

The two prisoners of war

Vause fell into the water in his parachute, but after a few hours, fisherman Jens Pedersen from Grættrup heard him and managed to rescue him ashore. It was deemed impossible to keep him hidden and the Germans were contacted and took him prisoner.

Fearn landed in a field near Floutrup and the farm owner Ove Vestergaard, who didn’t understand English, got him in contact with the neighboring farm owner Christian Skov before they did. There they made contact with Dr. Rask from Selde, who was part of the resistance movement. Due to the risk that the local resistance movement’s weapons stockpile would be confiscated in connection with a search, and the fact that a large number of people knew he was there, they decided to contact the Germans so Fearn could surrender.

The discovery and burial of John Harper

On June 20, 1945, the body of John Harper was found by a ship that took him to Skive and buried him.

On August 25, the town’s citizens had collected for a memorial stone which they unveiled. Harper’s mother and 1500 people attended the unveiling. Parish priest Fiig-Pedersen, Chief Constable Pulsen, Mayor Woldhardt Madsen and Flight Officer James from the Royal Air Force spoke at the memorial stone.

Sources

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