23 August 2016
Visit of Daryl Van Cooten,
nephew of Flight Sergeant John W. Van Cooten
Gannes (Oise)
Copyright © 2016 - Association des Sauveteurs d'Aviateurs Alliés - All rights reserved -
En français 
It was with pleasure and emotion that we welcomed Daryl Van Cooten, his wife Daphne, and a couple of their friends from Brisbane, Australia. Taking advantage of a long trip to Europe, particularly to his ancestral homeland in the Netherlands, this visit to Gannes was a must-see for Daryl and his friends.
On the night of 17/18 June 1944, Daryl's uncle, Flight Sergeant John William Van Cooten, a young 22-year-old bomb aimer aboard Lancaster HK559, RAF 115 Squadron, lost his life, along with the entire crew, when the aircraft crashed in flames near the village. The seven Australian and British airmen are buried in the small cemetery in Gannes.
Flight Sergeant John William Van Cooten
This visit began at the Lancaster crash site, searching for a few small pieces of debris, still visible witnesses to the terrible tragedy that took place there 72 years earlier.
After being welcomed by Mr. De Beule, the village mayor, we headed to the cemetery. Our Australian friends placed a small poppy at the foot of each of the seven graves. This flower, which in Commonwealth countries symbolizes the memory of all those who died during the war, was a moving moment followed by a long minute of silence.
At the request of Daryl and his friends, the day continued with a visit to the Somme Battlefields, notably to the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux and then Pozières. It was near this village that the Australian Expeditionary Force was first engaged on the Western Front, in July 1916.
Villers-Bretonneux - Australian National Memorial
This moving visit ended at the Thiepval Memorial.
Thiepval Memorial
