AS wreaths are laid at war graves around Australia and overseas on Anzac Day, amongst them will be tributes to seven airmen including one from Griffith whose headstones stand side-by-side at a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at the little Bavarian village of Dürnbach, in one of the most stunningly beautiful settings in Germany.
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But what brings that extra tear to the eyes of those who view these graves is that not only are four of these of young Australians aged in their just-20s – but that they died instantly when their RAAF Lancaster bomber was shot down in the inky darkness of 9-minutes-past-2 on the morning of Anzac Day 1944. And on whose graves, every year on Remembrance Sunday rather than Anzac Day, another very special wreath is laid.
The four Australians were the young pilot, Pilot Officer Eric Page (just 21) of Melbourne, Flying Officer John Sidney Braithwaite (the oldest at 28) from Griffith, Pilot Officer Edwin Ryland Brown (23) of Hamilton Qld, and Flight Sergeant Gordon Hughie Noakes (a mere 20 years of age) from Bedgerebong NSW.
We heard of these graves from fellow travel writer Malcolm Andrews who first visited Dürnbach in the 1970s while working with Radio Free Europe in Munich.
“Dürnbach lies about 45km south-east of Munich,” Malcolm recalled.
“And on its outskirts is Dürnbach War Cemetery, a more restful last place one could not imagine for its almost 3000 young men shot down over Bavaria, Württemberg, Austria, Hessen and Thuringia – or killed while escaping from prisoner-of-war camps – and ultimately brought here from their scattered graves by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.” Malcolm and then-wife Madeleine had visited Dürnbach for a commemorative service there on Remembrance Sunday 1974. “They all laid wreaths,” Malcolm said. “But we were appalled to note that Australia did not have a presence – neither the Australian Embassy nor the RAAF bothered to send either representative or wreath. “We expressed our disbelief in a letter to a Sydney newspaper, and as a result the Air Force Association contacted us and asked me to buy and lay a wreath on their behalf the next time a service was planned.
