Nora and sister Molly were in their teenage years when bad news regarding their WWII serviceman brother reached home. Sergeant John Currey was one of the crew members of a Bomber Command which went missing after a Berlin raid seven decades ago.
Last November, however, after seventy years of being left in the dark, Nora, who is 89, and Molly, 87, now have the story of what really happened to their long-lost brother —- all thanks to a news reported by the Daily Express.
November 23, 2013 – the said publication let out a story about the discovery of a Lancaster ED328 wreckage in a densely wooded area north of Berlin; the said plane remains were discovered by one of the relatives of the youngest crew member, Sgt. John Phillips, who was 19 at that time and was a mid-upper gunner.
The Story
Ian Hill, a nephew of Phillips, was able to trace an eyewitness to the event – Dr. Hans Richter – who at the time the crash happened was a 14-year-old schoolboy. He recalled how the plane was knocked off by a night fighter and crashed down like a “red fireball”.
According to actual reports, the said plane was shot down by Major Werner Husemann, who was a well-known air ace and night fighter pilot during WWII downing over 34 Allied warplanes, in August of 1943. Husemann is presently still alive at the age of 94.
The downed warplane’s crew were made up of three British and four Australian airmen; they were on their 19th mission when the incident occurred.
Mr. Hill stated how his mother, Alwyn, who is now 81 years old, has finally gotten her “closure” about her brother’s death.
“We tracked down a witness who saw the whole night battle and then the crash.
“The Lancaster was attacked from underneath and its fuel tanks were hit, causing it to explode.
“We now know that the bodies of the crew were buried with full military honors in a local cemetery,” he said.
It was him who tracked down and located the relatives of three of the crew and is still trying to locate the others.
On the other hand, Nora Williams, the oldest of Sgt. Currey’s siblings, said:
“I have always wanted to know what really happened to my brother and now I have got that. There is only myself and Molly left from the family and we are still coming to terms with it.”