Page 32 • The HERALD • 19th February 2026 v READ THE HERALD ONLINE: www.herald-publishing.co.uk v S H PLASTERING Contact Sam on 07896 830160 No Job is Too Small! Local • Reliable Service MR SWEEP THE CHIMNEY SWEEP keep it clean - keep it safer Open fires, wood burners, stoves etc. Both private and commercial properties Member of the Guild of Master Sweeps Tel: 07971 280906 www.mrsweeplymington.com email: mrsweeplymington@gmail.com 38 Bath Road, Lymington SO41 3SB The Square, Fawley, Southampton SO45 1DD T: 023 8112 3112 E: office@zebra-ltd.co.uk All Plumbing Works Undertaken Full Bathroom Installation Toilet Fix from £75 Fully Insured Free Quotes No Job Too Big or Too Small PLUMBING & BATHROOMS ELECTRICIAN/HANDYMAN FULLY QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN (30YRS EXPERIENCE) • Mains Upgrades • Testing • Extra/Replacement Points/Lights • Outside Lighting • Sockets • Ponds • BT/TV Points • Ethernet Points • CCTV • Fire/Intruder Alarms • Basic Plumbing Repairs • Outside Taps • Showers • Heating Problems • Blinds/Poles Fixed • Flatpacks • Loft Work Boarding, Tidying etc ALL OTHER DOMESTIC WORK CONSIDERED Call Mick on 07738 166453 or email: michaelshelley80@googlemail.com To advertise your business in The Herald, contact Sue on 023 8084 0815 or email: sjones@herald-publishing.co.uk It Started With A Telegram No Parent Wanted To Receive by Marc Heighway Marc is available as a guest speaker to deliver local history talks. Find out more at: nfhwa.org/speakers For the families, the news of their sons’ deaths came via telegram. en came the second emotional blow. eir sons were to be buried quickly, with no family present. is was the situation facing seven families in 1943, whose sons were ying out of the New Forest as part of the Allied war e ort. In the early hours of 21st February, a Handley Page Halifax bomber, serial DT633, took o from RAF Beaulieu at 04.55. Two minutes later it came crashing down into the woods a mile and a half north-east of the air eld. e aircra was laden with depth charges, which detonated on impact. All seven men aboard were killed in the resulting reball. The Halifax was assigned to No. 405 (City of Vancouver) Squadron, RCAF, one of the Canadian bomber squadrons temporarily loaned to Coastal Command for long-range anti-submarine work. e squadron was tasked with patrolling the Bay of Biscay, searching for German U-boats moving in and out of French ports. ey tended to leave Beaulieu airfield early in the morning whilst still dark, o en not returning for 12 hours. It was gruelling and risky work. at fateful morning, four aircra were tasked for Anti-Submarine Patrol No. 92. ree took o successfully, completed their patrols, and returned without sighting anything worth reporting. Halifax DT633 did not. Shortly after take-off, witnesses saw the Halifax begin a turn, then dive down steeply into the wood and burst into ames, followed by a series of explosions. e men on board were a “fresher” crew, only having been posted to Beaulieu in January 1943. Visibility was good, the weather fair, and there was no immediate explanation for the crash at the time. e accident investigation reported how Halifax DT633 was loaded with nearly 60,000 pounds in weight, including bombs and six depth charges. e destruction was so complete that practically no useful evidence could be taken from the wreckage. e investigator’s best guess was a stall, but it could not be proven. e crew was made up of four Canadians, two Americans, and one Brit, all ying under Canadian squadron colours out of an English air eld in the New Forest. Six of the seven are buried together in Boldre at St John the Baptist Churchyard. I know of these men because, over the last few years, I have researched all of the fatalities that occurred on ights in and out of the former RAF Beaulieu. I have found that 36% of all men killed ying from that New Forest air eld died within a short three to ve mile radius of the runways. e parents of those men would be sent a telegram informing them of their son’s death. e airmen would then be quickly buried in local churchyards, and in so many cases, their bodies were never repatriated to their home countries. So, next time you pass a graveyard in the New Forest, look for any Commonwealth War Graves. In most cases, the men buried in the graves you see are miles from their homes, indeed, sometimes thousands of miles. And it’s likely many of them never had a relative visit to pay their respects. It’s a rather sobering and poignant thought. War graves in Boldre
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