Hero airman is laid to rest after 74 years

A WAR hero who vanished when his aircraft went missing 2,000 miles from home has been laid to rest 74 years later – after his remains were finally found.

Flight Sergeant Ernest Logan Brown was buried with crewmen at a ceremony marking the disappearance of the Halifax JP 244 during the Second World War in 1944.

The Edinburgh flight sergeant, aged 27 at the time, was one of seven crew members onboard the aircraft before they were killed in the crash over Albania.

Last year a wreckage was found after recent wildfires and it was confirmed as the missing Halifax.

And now, 74 years after his death, a burial service to honour the former Edinburgh police constable has been held at Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery, Albania.

Tracey Bowers of the MOD’S Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), who organised the service, said: “It has been a privilege to organise this service and to reflect on the bravery of these seven young men.

“All were killed carrying out a mission supporting members of the Special Operations Executive, the crew were from different backgrounds but flew together as a professional, tight-knit team with one common aim.”

The service was attended by the UK Ambassador to Albania, Duncan Norman, family members and local dignitaries. The plane had set off from Italy to drop supplies to agents working with partisans.

The Reverend Jonathan Stewart said: “It is a real privilege for me to be involved, laying to rest members of this RAF crew who undertook such an important mission to help bring us the freedom that we all enjoy today.”

Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Eleni Kakkava said: “We are deeply moved to be able to lay members of the crew of Halifax JP244 to rest and mark their grave.”