THE MILLAR STORY
KH 239
On 29th September 2013 a commemoration service was held in Cantalupa in memory of the crew of KH239. This was the 5th plane that crashed in the mountains of Northern Italy 12th October 1944.The pilot was Australian from 31 Sqdn SAAF and the seven crew were British from 34 Sqdn SAAF . Their names and details were as follows:
C W LAWTON, RAAF, Flt/Sgt Pilot
D W BISHOP, RAF, Sergeant Bomb Aimer
J BUCKS, RAF, Sergeant Air Gunner
E H A CLIFT, RAF, Sergeant Navigator
I D FOTHERINGHAM, RAF, Pilot Officer F E,
S E LOCKTON, RAF, Sergeant Air Gunner
G TENNISON, RAF, Wireless Operator
D R WELLON, RAF, Sergeant Air Gunner
A formal dinner was held on the evening before the commemoration and amongst the invited guests were the Hind family -the niece, nephew-in-law, and great niece of Flt/Sgt Lawton as well as a Melbourne based Italian radio presenter, Carlo and his partner Adele and Anne Storm and Andrew Storm.
The actual commemoration ceremony commenced with speehes by the Mayor , Lawton's niece and Anne. In attendance were the Alpini and Assoc.Arma Aeronautica from Pinerolo and local people. National Anthems were played. This was followed by a Mass in the local church, then followed by a lunch in a mountain refuge restaurant .A log cabin given by Canadians after the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
The weather was very misty and damp and the mountains became covered in mist so,at times,could not be seen .Was it like this for the crew when they were trying to find their drop zone area?
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| The Mountain | The Monument -at the top of Mt Freidour | The Memorial -actual crash site. Photo by S.Vazon |
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| The Mountain Restaurant | The Municipio-town hall | The Church Mass |
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| The Parade | Posing for the camera | Part of the group |
A Video production by Carlo Oreglia and Adrian Di Virgilio of the Commemoration --------An advertisement runs first .
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/25/distant-heroes-honouring-sacrifice-skies-above-italy
A youtube production by Carlo and Adrian: