Searching for the relatives of tragic wartime airmen who perished in Danish waters

A dark evening in the middle of February 1945 saw a British warplane shot down by enemy fire and spiral into the murky depths of the sea off the Danish coast.
Royal Air Force ground staff  prepare to load a bomb onto a Handley Page Halifax.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Royal Air Force ground staff  prepare to load a bomb onto a Handley Page Halifax.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Royal Air Force ground staff prepare to load a bomb onto a Handley Page Halifax. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

On board were two men from the north west, Arthur Wood, a flying officer from Stockport and flight sergeant Maurice Clive Eddleston from Blackpool. Their bodies were recovered by local people and they were given a burial in the local churchyard in Stubbekobing, Falster, a small island off the coast.

Now, a Danish historian, with family in the UK, is hoping to piece together the lives of the airmen and possibly trace their descendents.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When the plane was shot down on February 14, the Danes were living under German occupation, and had been helped considerably by the British in the form of resistance to the occupiers.

The memorial to two airmen Maurice Eddleston and Arthur Wood who perished when their war plane crashed into the sea off Denmark in 1945The memorial to two airmen Maurice Eddleston and Arthur Wood who perished when their war plane crashed into the sea off Denmark in 1945
The memorial to two airmen Maurice Eddleston and Arthur Wood who perished when their war plane crashed into the sea off Denmark in 1945

Fiona Bengsten, who lived in Blackpool until she was 17 and is now married to the cousin of the Danish historian, said: “When they saw the British plane crash, the local community searched for it and found the bodies of the airmen. The local people smuggled the men’s bodies away under the noses of the Germans and gave them a proper burial in the local churchyard in Stubbekobing, Falster, an island in southern Denmark.”

And in fact the locals do much more than that. They still hold a church service for these two men at their memorials in Brarup, and visit the graves to honour them on the anniversary of their deaths.

“My husband’s cousin in Denmark found and photographed the memorial and graves. We are particularly interested in finding out if there are any relatives or friends still living in Blackpool or Stockport. or who may know of anyone connected to these two men?”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Maurice was born on November 20 1924 and was a flight sergeant and wireless operator with the Air Gunners. His home town was Blackpool. And Arthur was born on January 21, 1923 and was listed as living in Stockport.

The aircraft was one of four Handley Page BIII aircraft from Full Sutton Air Base near York and belonged to the Royal Air Force’s 77 Squadron. The wreckage was found in 2004.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.