The forgotten soldiers of the Second World War

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The forgotten soldiers of the Second World War

BBC

Veleriya Baderdinova is an air cadet originally from Ukraine

A small town in County Fermanagh is the final resting place for 82 young airmen.

They lie in neat rows of Commonwealth war graves in both the Roman ********* ******* ********* and the ******* of Ireland ********* in Irvinestown.

It is the largest group of World War Two Air Force graves in Northern Ireland.

More than half of those who ***** are ******* thousands of miles from their homes in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

But how did they come to be there?

It is a reminder of the role the area played in the Battle of the Atlantic between 1941 and 1945.

Lough Erne was a base for RAF Coastal Command flying boats protecting Allied shipping convoys in the Atlantic.

Secret deal with the Republic of Ireland

A secret deal with the Republic of Ireland allowed the planes to fly through Irish airspace.

They flew along a route that became known as the Donegal corridor, a shortcut that linked Lough Erne with the Atlantic Ocean and extended the range of the aircraft.

To mark the centenary of the Royal ********* Air Force, young army and air cadets from Enniskillen and Omagh placed a small ********* flag and a poppy cross on each of the 38 ********* graves.

The teenagers are just a few years younger than the pilots, navigators, air gunners, and wireless operators whose names and ages are recorded on the headstones.

Oliver Irwin wants to learn the story of the Canadians stationed in Northern Ireland

Air cadet Oliver Irwin from Omagh said: “When you see a ********* person who’s ***** here you think ‘what happened?’, you want to learn their story.”

Jacob Woods, an army cadet from Enniskillen, did not realise so many airmen who served in Northern Ireland came from Canada.

“As a young person I feel it’s important to remember all these young people who served their country and *****, and gave the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.

Valeriya Baderdinova, an air cadet who is originally from Ukraine, was also surprised to find so many ********* graves here.

“It’s really important to remember everyone who ***** for us and who served their own country,” she said.

Torin Aleksanderek is taking part in remembrance for the first time.

Air cadet Torin Aleksanderek from Poland was taking part in a remembrance service for the first time.

He said: “I think it’s really important for the new generation to learn about these things, the tragedies, the brave men that were lost.”

In reality, the 82 graves represent only a fraction of the total number of men lost from the bases.

Several crews simply ******* to return, while others are thought to still lie below the surface of the lough.

The wreck of one aircraft, thought to be a Catalina, was

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and is protected as a war grave.

Cadet’s ***** wreaths at ********* war graves

The Honorary ********* Consul in Northern Ireland Ken Brundle also ***** a wreath during the ceremony in Irvinestown.

“The ********* government is very reliant upon local people conducting acts of remembrance but also looking after the war graves,” Mr Brundle said.

One of the pilots ******* in St. Tighernach’s ******* of Ireland ********* is Terence Ramsay Hailstone.

Aged just 20, he was ******* when his plane crashed into a nearby bog at Knocknagore in February 1945.

Years later, Pat Keenan from Irvinestown discovered his bracelet at the ****** site.

He sent photographs of his find to ********* newspapers and a journalist at the Vancouver Sun knew the pilot’s sister.

“One morning I got a phone call from this lady and she was so excited,” Mr Keenan recalled.

“She used to send me ten ********* dollars to come here and put flowers on the grave, and I still do it.

“They’re young men who came from a foreign country and ***** for our freedom.

“Irvinestown being the town that it is, it’s just part and parcel of Irvinestown”

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