{"id":83299,"date":"2017-08-08T14:47:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T14:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=ff859a554b823c80bf2383982df3dc81"},"modified":"2017-08-08T14:47:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T14:47:00","slug":"news-story-grave-of-kent-born-ww2-pilot-officer-finally-rededicated-after-77-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=83299","title":{"rendered":"News story: Grave of Lewisham born WW2 Pilot Officer finally rededicated after 77 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Verifying the research submitted was crucial in identifying the final resting place of Pilot Officer (P\/O<\/abbr>) Hector Garmen Webb of the 224 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF<\/abbr>), who was killed during WW2. A rededication service was held on 8 August 2017 at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC<\/abbr>) \u00c5ndalsnes Church Cemetery, Norway 77 years after he fell.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/div>
A bugler plays the Last Post during the rededication service for P\/O<\/abbr> Webb. Crown Copyright. All rights reserved<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The service, which was a fitting tribute to the sacrifice made by P\/O<\/abbr> Webb, was organised by the MOD<\/abbr>\u2019s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC<\/abbr>), part of Defence Business Services, and was conducted by The Reverend Dr David Richardson, RAF<\/abbr> Station Chaplain, RAF<\/abbr> Halton.<\/p>\n

Reverend David Richardson, said:<\/p>\n

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As someone serving at RAF<\/abbr> Halton today, it is such a privilege to be here at this beautiful cemetery to remember the courage and sacrifice of Hector who graduated from Halton nearly 80 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

P\/O<\/abbr> Webb was just 16 years old when he joined the RAF<\/abbr> as an apprentice engine fitter. He later volunteered to train as a pilot and in 1937 he joined 224 Squadron as a Sergeant. He finally received his commission to become a Pilot Officer in 1940.<\/p>\n

In the early stages of WW2, 224 Squadron were assigned to provide air cover in support of Operation Primrose \u2013 the landing of British troops near \u00c5ndalsnes, Norway. On 23 April 1940 P\/O<\/abbr> Webb\u2019s aircraft (Hudson N7249) was approaching \u00c5ndalsnes when he was hit by friendly fire and crashed into a nearby mountain. His 3 crew members ejected and parachuted to safety, however, P\/O<\/abbr> Webb was sadly killed. He was aged just 24.<\/p>\n

P\/O<\/abbr> Webb\u2019s burial place had remained unknown, until the grave of an unknown airman buried in \u00c5ndalsnes Church Cemetery, Norway was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Defence by Hector\u2019s nephew, Ben Sharp. Further research was undertaken by the MOD<\/abbr> JCCC<\/abbr> to corroborate the evidence and the identification of the \u201cUnknown Airman\u201d grave was found to belong to P\/O<\/abbr> Hector Garman Webb, meaning his grave could finally be marked with his name.<\/p>\n

Ben Sharp who travelled to Norway from the USA to attend the service of his uncle, Hector, said:<\/p>\n

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It was a very touching ceremony and we were so pleased to see the people of \u00c5ndalsnes here to remember him with us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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It is very important for us to take a break in our busy lives and spend time to remember the sacrifices these men made for our freedom. We are especially thankful to the JCCC<\/abbr>, CWGC<\/abbr> and the local community who have looked after Hector\u2019s grave so well for all these years.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nicola Nash, JCCC<\/abbr> said:<\/p>\n

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It has been a privilege to work on this case and today\u2019s ceremony was a fitting commemoration for P\/O<\/abbr> Hector Webb and the ultimate sacrifice he made.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A new headstone bearing P\/O<\/abbr> Webb\u2019s name was provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pilot Officer Hector Garmen Webb of 224 Squadron, RAF, who was killed during WW2 has had a rededication ceremony at Andalsnes Church Cemetery, Norway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83336,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83299\/revisions\/83336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}