大象传媒

This year, 60 years after the destruction of ED 473 L-SD, more details of the event have been uncovered. The niece of Pilot Tommy Jones was contacted by M. Philippe Waegeman of Nantes, who had found a card she left at the graveside in Pont-du-Cens. He has an interest in the history of WW1 and WW2 and was astonished and moved to find photgraphs of two of the crew, and evidence that they were still remembered and visited after 60 years. He contacted Tommy's niece and undertook on our behalf a search of the local archives . This has located the exact site of the crash in the village of Ville-au-Denis near Bougenais, and M. Waegeman has talked to people who remember the crash and found parts of the Lancaster in their gardens. It is also clear now that the men were first interred at Bougenais and moved to the cemetery at Pont-du-Cens after the liberation. An article about all this has appeared in a local French newspaper, with photos of M. Waegeman, of Tommy Jones, and of the Lancaster.
I plan to visit Pont-du-Cens in this anniversary year, but am not able to do so on May 8th, the actual anniversary. M. Waegeman, however, plans to be there, for which I am deeply grateful.
UPDATE 07/05/04 - I have just received a letter from M. Waegeman confirming that on May 8th (tomorrow) an Act of Remembrance will take place at the crash site in Ville-au-Denis, with local dignitaries and residents. He will also take my husband and me to visit the crash site when we are in Brittany later this summer.

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