In Lombardy, tributes have been paid to eight British and Australian airmen who died when their planes crashed during the Second World War.

This Saturday, September 3, Lombard will honor veterans of World War II. Eight British and Australian airmen from the Royal Air Force died when their plane crashed in Tubbs, near Besancon.

There were eight of them: Lombard (Doubs) did not want to forget them! Six British and two Australian airmen of the United Kingdom Air Force died in this commune on the night of September 1-2, 1944. Their plane crashed into the ground in a storm. Almost 80 years later, every first Sunday of September, tributes are paid to them.

The pilots on board were between the ages of 19 and 34. After 78 years, the emotion and memory are very strong. Especially for Daniel Pocock: This Australian living in Melbourne (Australia) wanted to travel to Lombard. He is very emotional:Being here today… Words cannot describe the sacrifice of these soldiers“.

A history-obsessed engineer enlists his comrades who fell in the battle to liberate Europe. “These Australian airmen took great risks for freedom. Their existence is unknown. They now worked with the forerunners of MI-6, the British secret service. The scope and nature of their tasks were classified“, explains Daniel Pocock.

Elected officials, citizens and activists, all wanted to visit this tree for this commemoration. The mayor was accompanied by many veterans. “The crash occurred as the planes were refueling in the Maquis of Sissi and Jura. On the way back, a plane crashed here around 2 am. The weather was terrible, with thunderstorms, fog and rain. The plane circled the village several times“, recalls Philippe Edme.

For the mayor of Lombardy (far left), it was important to erect this stele and hold this ceremony at the site of this disaster. “We have an important duty of remembrance to do, especially since we thought the wars would end today. Indeed we feel the cannon now thundering again at the gates of Europe. All this should be reminded especially the youth. This is the reason why we organize it every year“.

An important commemoration to honor these soldiers who came to supply weapons to the Allies. A week after the plane crash, Besancon was released.