ST. MARTIN-SUR-OREUSE COMMUNAL CEMETERY
Yonne
France
GPS Coordinates Latitude: 48.29436 Longitude: 3.33709
Location Information
St. Martin-sur-Oreuse is a village and commune 60 kilometres north-north-west of Auxerre, and 12 kilometres north-north-east of Sens, a town on the main Paris to Auxerre road and railway. The nearest railway station with a reasonable service is at Sens, where taxis are available. The cemetery lies on the northern side of the village, on a local road leading to the neighbouring hamlet of Barrault. The graves of seven British airmen are some 17 yards north-east of the memorial.
Flight Details
On 29th July 1944 the men of Lancaster JB701 were on one of 12 aircraft from 49 Squadron who took off from RAF Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, bound for a bombing raid over northern Germany. In the early hours of July 29, 1944, the crew were shot down by enemy fighter aircraft near Sens, 120km south of Paris. None survived the crash and they were buried together in the nearby cemetery of St Martin-sur-Oreuse.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 7.
St. Martin-sur-Oreuse is a village and commune 60 kilometres north-north-west of Auxerre, and 12 kilometres north-north-east of Sens, a town on the main Paris to Auxerre road and railway. The nearest railway station with a reasonable service is at Sens, where taxis are available. The cemetery lies on the northern side of the village, on a local road leading to the neighbouring hamlet of Barrault. The graves of seven British airmen are some 17 yards north-east of the memorial.
Flight Details
On 29th July 1944 the men of Lancaster JB701 were on one of 12 aircraft from 49 Squadron who took off from RAF Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, bound for a bombing raid over northern Germany. In the early hours of July 29, 1944, the crew were shot down by enemy fighter aircraft near Sens, 120km south of Paris. None survived the crash and they were buried together in the nearby cemetery of St Martin-sur-Oreuse.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 7.
Images in this gallery © Bill Sheret
142089 Flying Officer
Geoffrey Edward Franklin
Navigator in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29th July 1944, aged 31. aged 31.
Son of George Franklin and Frances Franklin (née Summers), husband of Alberta Margaret Franklin of Lampeter, Cardiganshire.
Geoffrey Edward Franklin
Navigator in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29th July 1944, aged 31. aged 31.
Son of George Franklin and Frances Franklin (née Summers), husband of Alberta Margaret Franklin of Lampeter, Cardiganshire.
1868952 Sergeant
Thomas Moore
Air Gunner in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29th July 1944.
His headstone bears the inscription "We Will Remember Them"
Thomas Moore
Air Gunner in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29th July 1944.
His headstone bears the inscription "We Will Remember Them"
121347 Flight Lieutenant
William Leonard Powell
Pilot in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of William Percy and Getrude Elizabeth Powell of Croydon, Surrey.
His headstone bears the inscription "Thou Thy Worldly Tak Hast Done, Home Art Gone And Taken Thy Wages"
William Leonard Powell
Pilot in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29th July 1944, aged 22.
Son of William Percy and Getrude Elizabeth Powell of Croydon, Surrey.
His headstone bears the inscription "Thou Thy Worldly Tak Hast Done, Home Art Gone And Taken Thy Wages"
1339900 Flight Sergeant
Donald Carl Stephens
Wireless Operator in 49 Squadron,Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29/07/1944 aged 20.
Flight-Sergeant Donald Carl Stephens, only child of Mrs Bertha Stephens of hillside Camelford and the late J.A. Stephens.
His headstone bears the inscription "Until We Meet Again. Duty Nobly Done. Mum And Hazel"
Camelford Roll of Honour
Extract taken from the Cornish and Devon Post dated 1st December 1945.
In July last year Flight-Sergeant Stephens was reported missing, and a day or two ago his mother received the information that he was killed whilst on an operational flight with a Lancaster Pathfinder Force. Flight-Sergeant Stephens who had been recommended for a commission, had taken part in many operational flights over Germany and enemy occupied countries. He was a popular student at the Camelford Grammar School and was loved and respected by all who knew him, and sympathy is expressed with the widowed mother and fiancée in their bereavement. In his boyhood days he was a valued member of the Camelford and Boscastle Boys Brigade.
More Information
Although unconfirmed, it is believed Donald was born in 1924, the son of John Andrew Stephens and Bertha Stephens. His mother, Bertha, was born Bertha Fray and may have married someone from the Carne family, who died in 1914. Bertha Carne nee Fray then married again to John Stephens, who died in 1930. She was living at 2 Willepark View, Boscastle, in 1939.
Unfortunately the RAF have not been able to track any relatives but it is possible that Donald’s father, John, was one of several siblings. John was born in 1896 and had eight siblings — Mary E, George R, Emily A, Mabel R, Edith, Florence, Harry and Albert.
Donald was one of seven aircrew lost from the Lancaster aircraft from 49 Squadron RAF on their 17th mission during the Second World War. Donald was a wireless operator on the 49 Squadron Lancaster, flying from RAF Fiskerton in Lincolnshire.
The other six crew members of Lancaster JB701 were Pilot Flight Lieutenant William Powell, aged 22 of Croydon, Surrey; Navigator Flying Officer Geoffrey Edward Franklin, aged 31 of Lampeter, Cardiganshire; Bomb Aimer Flying Officer Albert Stanley Cole, aged 21 of Hastings, Sussex; Flight Engineer Sergeant George Frederick West, aged 29 of Altrincham, Cheshire; Air Gunner Sergeant Thomas Moore of Dublin, Ireland and Air Gunner Sergeant George Edward Kirkpatrick, aged 30 of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
Donald Carl Stephens
Wireless Operator in 49 Squadron,Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
29/07/1944 aged 20.
Flight-Sergeant Donald Carl Stephens, only child of Mrs Bertha Stephens of hillside Camelford and the late J.A. Stephens.
His headstone bears the inscription "Until We Meet Again. Duty Nobly Done. Mum And Hazel"
Camelford Roll of Honour
Extract taken from the Cornish and Devon Post dated 1st December 1945.
In July last year Flight-Sergeant Stephens was reported missing, and a day or two ago his mother received the information that he was killed whilst on an operational flight with a Lancaster Pathfinder Force. Flight-Sergeant Stephens who had been recommended for a commission, had taken part in many operational flights over Germany and enemy occupied countries. He was a popular student at the Camelford Grammar School and was loved and respected by all who knew him, and sympathy is expressed with the widowed mother and fiancée in their bereavement. In his boyhood days he was a valued member of the Camelford and Boscastle Boys Brigade.
More Information
Although unconfirmed, it is believed Donald was born in 1924, the son of John Andrew Stephens and Bertha Stephens. His mother, Bertha, was born Bertha Fray and may have married someone from the Carne family, who died in 1914. Bertha Carne nee Fray then married again to John Stephens, who died in 1930. She was living at 2 Willepark View, Boscastle, in 1939.
Unfortunately the RAF have not been able to track any relatives but it is possible that Donald’s father, John, was one of several siblings. John was born in 1896 and had eight siblings — Mary E, George R, Emily A, Mabel R, Edith, Florence, Harry and Albert.
Donald was one of seven aircrew lost from the Lancaster aircraft from 49 Squadron RAF on their 17th mission during the Second World War. Donald was a wireless operator on the 49 Squadron Lancaster, flying from RAF Fiskerton in Lincolnshire.
The other six crew members of Lancaster JB701 were Pilot Flight Lieutenant William Powell, aged 22 of Croydon, Surrey; Navigator Flying Officer Geoffrey Edward Franklin, aged 31 of Lampeter, Cardiganshire; Bomb Aimer Flying Officer Albert Stanley Cole, aged 21 of Hastings, Sussex; Flight Engineer Sergeant George Frederick West, aged 29 of Altrincham, Cheshire; Air Gunner Sergeant Thomas Moore of Dublin, Ireland and Air Gunner Sergeant George Edward Kirkpatrick, aged 30 of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
Other Burials
151428 Flying Officer Albert Stanley Cole, Air Bomber in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 29th July 1944, aged 21. Son of Ernest Albert and Charlotte Jane Cole; husband of Joan Edith Cole of Hastings, Sussex. His headstone bears the inscription "In Loving Memory Of My Dear Husband. Ever In Our Thoughts"
1184749 Sergeant George Edward Kirkpatrick, Air Gunner in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 29th July 1944, aged 30. Son of John Harry and Marguerite Kirkpatrick; husband of Hilda Kirkpatrick of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. His headstone bears the inscription "We Will Remember Them"
1592150 Sergeant John Frederick West, Flight Engineer in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 29th July 1944, aged 29. Son of Frederick A. and Georgie West of Altrincham, Cheshire. His headstone bears the inscription "Peace"
151428 Flying Officer Albert Stanley Cole, Air Bomber in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 29th July 1944, aged 21. Son of Ernest Albert and Charlotte Jane Cole; husband of Joan Edith Cole of Hastings, Sussex. His headstone bears the inscription "In Loving Memory Of My Dear Husband. Ever In Our Thoughts"
1184749 Sergeant George Edward Kirkpatrick, Air Gunner in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 29th July 1944, aged 30. Son of John Harry and Marguerite Kirkpatrick; husband of Hilda Kirkpatrick of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. His headstone bears the inscription "We Will Remember Them"
1592150 Sergeant John Frederick West, Flight Engineer in 49 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, died 29th July 1944, aged 29. Son of Frederick A. and Georgie West of Altrincham, Cheshire. His headstone bears the inscription "Peace"
49 Squadron Memorial
The crew of a Second World War Royal Air Force Lancaster have been honoured with the unveiling of a new memorial in the French field where they crashed. For years, their foreign final resting place had been cared for by local children, now the French community in St Martin-sur-Oreuse have come together with British families and military colleagues to pay tribute to seven men who gave their lives in defence of the UK and her allies.
Map of Crash Site Below
Map of Crash Site Below
