MEET YOUR HERO
Boost for Dutch villagers who honour Scots airman Angus
DUTCH villagers who honour a Scots war hero every year have finally found out what he looked like – thanks to the Daily Record.
Angus MacLeod died when his Mosquito fighter plane crash-landed in the sea near Zoutelande in 1944 as the Allies tried to liberate Holland from Nazi occupation.
The airman, 37, from Cardonald, near Glasgow, was buried in the village and locals gather at his grave every November to honour his bravery.
The Dutch Wings to Victory Foundation carried out extensive research on Angus, along with other Allied war heroes.
But they were never able to get their hands on photographs of him.
The foundation contacted the Record and we were able to put them in touch with Angus’s family.
We uncovered that he married Elizabeth Nicholson in Glasgow on Christmas Eve 1937 and that
they had a son Colin, born in January 1939. Colin lives in the south of England.
The foundation are delighted that they now have photographs of Angus which they can refer to during next year’s graveside service.
Angus was based in the south of England and was in 239 Squadron of the RAF. The body of his flying partner Flight Lieutenant Basil John Brachi was not found after they crashed and he was listed as missing in action.
Angus’s body was found on the beach near the tiny village of Zoutelande in the south-west of the Netherlands.
In 1947, after the war, the Burgomaster of Zoutlande wrote a touching letter to Angus’s family, telling them he had been buried in the village. Christobel Graham, who was originally from Kirkcaldy but had moved to Zoutelande, began regularly tending his grave.
Martien van Dijk, of the foundation, said: “Every year, our foundation, a school class and local people are involved in a small remembrance for FO MacLeod.”
Angus is the only war hero buried in the graveyard.