Robert Alan West gets identification in France after death in World War 2
London
We have heard about or watched the movie on Dunkirk’s battle with Nazis where Pilot Officer Robert Alan West went missing after providing cover for rescue operations over Northern France’s beaches.
Robert Alan West of Clapham in London and aged just 20 at that time, was flying Hurricane MK-1 fighter aircraft when he came under heavy fire from a German Messerschmitt’s 215 aircraft on 1 June 1940.
The RAF pilot was buried in an unidentified grave at Dunkirk Town Cemetery in France after his remains were found along with Hurricane MK-1 shortly after the crash.
West’s identity was established 83 years after he was killed in action with the assistance of the RAF Air Historical Branch.
The service and ceremony to name the Graves’ Headstone was held on 24 May by the UK MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) or ‘MOD War Detectives’.
The ceremony also saw laying to rest his additional remains in the grave after it was confirmed via DNA tests that they belonged to Robert Alan West
UK JCCC’s Tracey Bowers said, “This has been a case that combines both burial and rededication of a headstone. The assistance given by the RAF Air Historical Branch (AHB) was vital to help solve this.
It is a sad fact that following an air crash, complete casualty remains may not be recovered at the time.”
Bowers added the historical error has now been rectified and a ceremony was held to re-dedicate the final resting place of the brave pilot in the presence of his family members.
West’s niece Shelia Davenport said the family knew very little about her uncle but after this, they got to know about him and his life.
“We are grateful for the closure this ceremony has given the family,” she added.
