Candlelit service held at Yorkshire cemetery to honour Canadian airmen

More than 1,000 casualties are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CGWC) at Stonefall Cemetery near Harrogate, the majority of whom were servicemen with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Many were bomber crews and generally they were buried side by side with their comrades. For the past four years local woman Benji Walker has organised a candelit Christmas Remembrance service to pay respects to the fallen.

Last year the event had to take place without the public, but yesterday (Sunday) people were again able to attend in person.

They were invited to place battery-operated tea lights on the graves of the fallen, before a short service took place. Mrs Walker, who has a son serving in the Yorkshire Regiment, was inspired by images of CWGC cemeteries in Europe lit by candlelight.

She will be using the event to raise money for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Help for Heroes.

She said: “I feel it’s as important today as it was at the time to recognise the sacrifice of those who gave everything to serve this country.”

The cemetery is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England.

The first burial took place in 1943. In 1944 over 550 Air Force crew were to lose their lives and be interred at Stonefall.

Canada’s main Second World War effort was in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which saw 160,000 aircrew train in Canada with Canadians making up around half the number.

For much of the War, 6 Group of Bomber Commander, a Royal Canadian Air Force formation, was based in Yorkshire.