MARCILLY COMMUNAL CEMETERY
Seine-et-Marne
France
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 49.03904, Longitude: 2.88068
Location Information
Marcilly is a village and commune in the Department of the Seine-et-Marne, 58 kilometres north-north-east of Melun, and 10 kilometres north of Meaux. The Communal Cemetery lies on the north-east side of the village on a by-road leading from the church. Near the centre are the graves of 8 airmen, 7 belonging to the Royal Air Force and 1 to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Flight Details:
Base: R.A.F. Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Unit: 61 Sqdn. Bomber Command
Aircraft: Lancaster Mk III, serial DV304
Target: Revigny, France
Incident: The aircraft crashed at Marcilly. There were no survivors.
Marcilly is a village and commune in the Department of the Seine-et-Marne, 58 kilometres north-north-east of Melun, and 10 kilometres north of Meaux. The Communal Cemetery lies on the north-east side of the village on a by-road leading from the church. Near the centre are the graves of 8 airmen, 7 belonging to the Royal Air Force and 1 to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Flight Details:
Base: R.A.F. Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Unit: 61 Sqdn. Bomber Command
Aircraft: Lancaster Mk III, serial DV304
Target: Revigny, France
Incident: The aircraft crashed at Marcilly. There were no survivors.
Images in gallery below © Thierry Grier
174945 Flying Officer
Herbert Wright Cooper
Pilot in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
19th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of John and Lilian Cooper of Bispham, Blackpool, Lancs.
His headstone bears the inscription "Always Smiling A Heart Of Gold, One Of The Best The World Could Hold"
Herbert Wright Cooper
Pilot in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
19th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of John and Lilian Cooper of Bispham, Blackpool, Lancs.
His headstone bears the inscription "Always Smiling A Heart Of Gold, One Of The Best The World Could Hold"
J/88621 Pilot Officer
George McLaughlin
Air Bomber in 61 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
19th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of William Robert and Emma McLaughlin of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
His headstone bears the inscription "And While He Lies In Peaceful Sleep, His Memory We Shall Always Keep"
George McLaughlin
Air Bomber in 61 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
19th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of William Robert and Emma McLaughlin of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
His headstone bears the inscription "And While He Lies In Peaceful Sleep, His Memory We Shall Always Keep"
1468776 Sergeant
Kenneth Francis Merrifield
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
19th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of Harold Gordon and Ellen Constance Merrifield of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex.
His brother Victor Bert Wood Merrifield also fell and is buried in Chungkai War Cemetery in Thailand.
His headstone bears the inscription "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That He Lay Down His Life For His Friend"
Kenneth Francis Merrifield
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
19th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of Harold Gordon and Ellen Constance Merrifield of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex.
His brother Victor Bert Wood Merrifield also fell and is buried in Chungkai War Cemetery in Thailand.
His headstone bears the inscription "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That He Lay Down His Life For His Friend"
127924 Flying Officer
John Bernard Thompson
Pilot in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
19th July 1944.
John Bernard Thompson
Pilot in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
19th July 1944.
Other Burial Details:
1347849 Flight Sergeant James Higgins Blane, Air Gunner in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 23. Son of Kate Blane of Glasgow. His headstone bears the inscription "At Rest"
170183 Flying Officer George Albert Davey, Air Gunner in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 21. Son of John Thomas and Florence Elizabeth Davey of Walthamstow, Essex. His headstone bears the inscription "Happy And Smiling, Always Content, Loved And Respected Whenever He Went"
2209289 Sergeant Terence Edward Hardy, Flight Engineer in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 21. Son of Bernard Wilfred and Daisy Harriet Hardy of Swanscombe, Kent. His headstone bears the inscription "At The Going Down Of The Sun And In The Morning We Will Remember Him"
151620 Flying Officer Bryan Spofforth Little, Navigator in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 21. Son of Joseph Henry and Ethel May Little of York. His headstone bears the inscription "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That A Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends"
1347849 Flight Sergeant James Higgins Blane, Air Gunner in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 23. Son of Kate Blane of Glasgow. His headstone bears the inscription "At Rest"
170183 Flying Officer George Albert Davey, Air Gunner in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 21. Son of John Thomas and Florence Elizabeth Davey of Walthamstow, Essex. His headstone bears the inscription "Happy And Smiling, Always Content, Loved And Respected Whenever He Went"
2209289 Sergeant Terence Edward Hardy, Flight Engineer in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 21. Son of Bernard Wilfred and Daisy Harriet Hardy of Swanscombe, Kent. His headstone bears the inscription "At The Going Down Of The Sun And In The Morning We Will Remember Him"
151620 Flying Officer Bryan Spofforth Little, Navigator in 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 19th July 1944, aged 21. Son of Joseph Henry and Ethel May Little of York. His headstone bears the inscription "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That A Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends"
