By Steve Hubrecht
Earlier this year, many Canadians took part in events commemorating D-Day.
Here in Invermere there was a ceremony at the downtown cenotaph on June 6th marking the 80th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history, and the start of the Allied liberation of France. D-Day is often cited as the turning point in the Second World War.
Exactly one month later, on Saturday, July 6, another 80th anniversary related to the Second World War was marked in a small French village — this occasion was perhaps smaller in scale but just as meaningful to those involved, and it still managed to underscore just how intimate the broad sweep of history can be.
A new memorial was unveiled in Laversines, honouring six men — including one from Windermere — who were shot down during a bombing raid on the night of July 4, 1944.
That man — Harold Braathen — was the subject of a Pioneer Remembrance Day feature last November. A few weeks ago, his niece Diana Braathen, who now lives in Vancouver, travelled with her husband to France, where they, along with families of the other six men who died that night, as well as families of the two men who survived, took part in ceremonies to honour the sacrifice of their relatives.
“It was a really unique experience,” Diana told the Pioneer the week after she returned to Canada. “It was very powerful, and very emotional to be a part of it.”
About 30 people, all relatives of those who perished in the plane crash, travelled to Laversines, most from the United Kingdom, but some from Australia as well. They met for dinner on Friday, July 5, then on July 6 they attended the unveiling of the new memorial in Laversines, visited the nearby Marissel military cemetery in Beauvais, and visited the plane crash site (which is a farmer’s field).
“It seemed that a lot of the (Laversines) community came out, even though it was an unusually cold and wet July day,” said Diana. “It really brought home what happened in the war when France was occupied. It’s something you learn about in high school, of course, but seeing all those people come out, it gave me a new understanding.”
In the Marissel cemetery in Beauvais, Diana put a Canadian poppy next to the two crosses dedicated to Harold and his five crew mates who died in the crash. The pilot’s (Bill Young) family came from Australia, bringing a handful of signature Australian red dirt from their hometown to lay at the crosses.
“Just about everyone had brought something to leave there, at the crosses. It was very meaningful,” said Diana.
A reception followed, as did speeches from local officials and those connected to the event.
“It was so good to do that, to be able to remember my uncle, who of course I never got to meet,” said Diana. “My father would have been happy that I was able to do that . . . it is nice to see this recognition happening for a group of young men who lost their lives in an old men’s war.”
After, Diana and her husband travelled to Caen, to the Juno Beach memorial, the Omaha Beach cemetery, and a few other Second World War sites, which Diana also found moving to visit.
Harold was originally born in Sweden to Norwegian parents, immigrated to Canada and moved to the Columbia Valley with his family as a child, and grew up in Windermere, where he attended Windermere elementary school before going to high school in Invermere. He became a teacher and worked in the Peace region in northeastern British Columbia, before joining the military in 1942. Harold married his wife in 1943, only a month before being posted overseas. He joined Bill Young’s crew for one flight, as a ‘second dickie’ (i.e. an extra navigator) to gain experience, after which he was supposed to join his own regular crew.
But as fate had it, the July 4 raid was Harold’s only combat flight. The crew’s Lancaster ME699 successfully attacked its target, but was then shot down while returning home. Three members of the crew managed to bail out of the aircraft; one perished and two parachuted to safety and were hidden undercover by the French Resistance. The other five (including Harold) died when the plane crashed and exploded in an orchard near Laversines.
None of the Braathens still live in the Columbia Valley, but their family home is still standing — an old log house facing Lake Windermere, close to the Windermere cemetery where several Braathens are buried.
