War Graves Great Bircham

The War Graves at St Mary's Church, Great Bircham, Norfolk, England

Photo of the church from the War Graves plot

THE BRITISH, COMMONWEALTH & GERMAN WAR GRAVES

St MARY'S CHURCHYARD, GREAT BIRCHAM, NORFOLK.

THIS SITE RECORDS THE SERVICE PERSONNEL WHO ARE BURIED IN THE COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION PLOT AND THE GROUND ADJOINING THE CHURCH, TOGETHER WITH DETAILS OF THE
CIRCUMSTANCES OF EACH DEATH.

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THE AUTHOR WOULD BE PLEASED TO HEAR FROM RELATIVES,
OR ANYONE, WHO CAN ADD TO THE INFORMATION RECORDED AGAINST THE
SERVICE PERSONNEL BURIED IN St. MARY'S CHURCHYARD, GREAT BIRCHAM.

Brian Hillman
3 Grantly Court
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 4TN

bsh@lineone.net

email Brian Hillman

10 September 2006

Introduction

During the 1939 -1945 war the churchyard of St. Mary’s at Great Bircham was used for the burial of service personnel from the Royal Air Force Station at Bircham Newton, and its satellites RAF Docking and RAF Langham. Also buried were Service dead who died in the area, or were recovered from the Sea, British service dead whose families requested local burial, and German airmen brought down in the area.

The special plot in the South Eastern corner of the Churchyard was set aside early in 1940, and all except one of the WW2 War graves are in this Plot. The single WW1 War grave is located elsewhere in the churchyard.

The first WW2 grave in the Churchyard was that of the German airman Emil Rödel who was buried in an unused corner of the Churchyard in December 1939. In February 1940 the Imperial (later Commonwealth) War Graves Commission (CWGC) applied to create a plot in which to bury the war dead. Approval was given, and the current plot, which included the grave of Emil Rödel, was laid out in March 1940. The German grave was in the ”wrong place” for the proposed layout of the plot and the Authorities planned to move the grave. However the villagers objected to the interference of the grave and it was left undisturbed. This explains why there is a German grave in the first row of Commonwealth graves, and why there is an unequal space between the 3rd and 4th graves in that row.

The first British casualty to be buried was Gunner Frederick Pile who was part of the Anti-Aircraft defence of Bircham Newton Airfield. He was buried in the grave nearest the entrance to the plot, and burials continued in the plot until F/O J. Rhodes on 5 May 1945.

There are a total of 66 Commonwealth graves and 11 German graves in the plot and 2 British Graves outside the plot. There are 2 army, 1 naval, and one WAAF’s grave in the churchyard. All members of the Commonwealth are represented with airmen from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa lying side by side. There is also an American serving with the RAF, who joined before America entered the War. The body of an unidentified RAF Pilot Officer was recovered from the sea and lies with his comrades.

His Majesty King George VI, accompanied by his Queen and the Princess’s Elizabeth and Margaret, unveiled the cross of Sacrifice on 14th July 1946. The Cross was the first to be erected after the 1939 -1945 war and stands near the east wall. Let into the wall behind it is an inscribed bronze plaque erected in March 1955 recording these facts.

The Cross of Sacrifice was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield during the first world war and is found in any military cemetery, or civil burial ground, with more than 40 War graves. Standing on an octagonal base with a bronze crusaders sword mounted upon it, the cross carries both religious and military significance.

In the north west corner of the plot is a Canadian Maple tree presented by the Government and People of Canada as a reminder of all the Canadians who are buried in the Plot.

Also in the Churchyard, but just outside the entrance to the plot, are the graves of 3 airmen killed just before the war, they have been included here for completeness, although they are not War graves under the care of CWGC.

The 60th Anniversary of the unveiling of the cross was marked by a commemoration service attended by her majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday 16th July 2006. The Queen laid a wreath at the cross and met several relatives of those buried in the Churchyard.

The Queen laying a wreath to mark the 60th Anniversary of the unveiling of the Cross of Sacrifice by her Father, King George VI, on 14 July 1946.

The Author introduces Relatives of those buried at Great Bircham to the Queen after the commemoration service on 16 July 2006.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all those who have helped with compilation of this work, in particular the following: -

Ernest &Ted Alexander, Brian Briston, Rob Davis, Steve Douglas, Scott Galloway, Peter Gunn, Paul Ilett, Nic Kitchin, Rose Henderson, Mary Lancefield, Colin Mangham, Geoff Negus, Ivor Prothero, Glynne Sandy, Bob and Sue Rothwell, Michael Rudd, Hugh Townsend, Brian Walford, George Ward, Mike Whitehead, and the staff at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, especially Claire Samber, Judith Donald, Nigel Havers, and Chris Lofty.

Special thanks are due to John Beynon who kindled my interest in the Great Bircham War graves, and collaborated on the early research, before moving on to other projects.

Grateful thanks to Nic Kitchin who acted as webmaster to this site.

Bibliography and reference sources

Air Raid! (Michael Bowyer)
Australian War Memorial Website
Bircham Newton - A Norfolk airfield in war and peace (Peter Gunn).
Blitz - Then and Now Vol. 1-3 (After the Battle)
Bomber Squadrons of the RAF. (Philip Moyes)
Burial Register of St. Mary’s Church, Great Bircham
Canadian Veterans Website
Civil Defence War Diaries (Norfolk Records office)
Combat Ready (Alastair Goodrum)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Web Site
Commonwealth War Graves Commission records
Eastern Daily Press.
Fear Naught - History of 206 Sqn. (Peter Gunn)
Kings Lynn Libraries
Lockheed Hudson in World War 2 (Andrew Hendrie)
London Gazette
Lynn News and Advertiser
Ministry of Defence Air Historical Branch
National Archive at Kew (formerly the PRO)
No Place for Chivalry (Alastair Goodrum)
Norfolk Records office in Norwich
Norfolk Air crashes - RAF1939 – 45 (Merv Hambling)
RAF Bomber Command Losses Vol.1 to 6 (W.R.Chorley)
RAF Costal Command Losses Vol. 1 (Ross McNeill)
RAF Museum records at Hendon