Pilot laid to rest 70 years after his Spitfire was downed in Italy
AN RAF Spitfire pilot whose remains were found more than 70 years after he was shot down over Italy has been given a burial with full military honours.
Warrant Officer John Henry “Harry” Coates died after his fighter plane was hit by flak during a raid south of Venice in March 1945.
His immediate family died without knowing where or how he had died.
His remains, and that of his Spitfire, were found by enthusiasts from the Romagna Air Finders group in 2017.
His identity was confirmed after DNA was taken from relatives in the United Kingdom.
WO Coates, who came from York and was 24 when he died, was given a full military funeral at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the city of Padua, close to where his Spitfire crashed in March 1945.
His coffin was carried by serving
RAF personnel.
Shelagh Coates, the pilot’s niece, one of several relatives who attended the ceremony, said: “We are very grateful to Romagna Air Finders for finding the missing plane of our uncle and his remains after he went missing.
“It is a great honour for us to finally put him to rest in the Padua War Cemetery today.
“Unfortunately, the find was too late for his youngest brother, my father Frank, who died in 2015, and his sister Betty who died in 2016,” said Ms Coates, from Stamford in Lincs.
When local enthusiasts came across the wreck of the aircraft two years ago, they found an RAF pilot’s wings and the rank insignia of a Warrant Officer.
The number of the Spitfire – PT 410 – matched that of WO Coates’ aircraft.
Human remains were also found – forensic samples were taken and the DNA proved a match with a member of his family.
The work was carried out by the Mod’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), which traces and identifies British servicemen from both world wars and other conflicts.
Born in 1920, WO Coates joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in March 1941, where he was recommended for training as a pilot. He served in Italy with 111 Squadron.