A FUNERAL procession slowly makes its way through a cemetery, followed by prayers at the graveside.

Seven crosses with names later mark the spots where the bodies are laid to rest.

This was a scene repeated many times as British servicemen fell in France during the Second World War.

But there is a mystery about these pictures – why were they found in an attic in George Street, Bicester?

Chris Bowers, of Welland Croft, Bicester, tells me: “They were found in my father-in-law’s loft recently. His name was Walter George Clifton and he served in the Marines in the war.

“How he came to have these photographs we have not been able to find out.”

Mr Bowers has carried out some research, which suggests that two of the men drowned trying to rescue shipmates who had got into difficulty.

The name on the first cross on the left is John Jack James Flynn, 19, followed by Leslie Frank Richards, 18, and John James Nicholson, 32.

The name on the next cross is Roland Charles Edwards, although we know nothing about him. The names on the other three crosses are indistinct.

Oxford Mail:

  • The funeral procession

Mr Bowers writes: “I have found out that Flynn and Richards were from HMS Scott, a minesweeper, and that with three other crew, they launched a motorboat to try to rescue Marines, including Nicholson, who had got into difficulties in another boat on October 13, 1944.

“Unfortunately, they all lost their lives and their bodies were buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery Pas de Calais on October 17, 1944 (I have seen a picture of the belltower behind the funeral procession online).

“Can any reader recognise the names of the men? Were they local and how did my father-in-law come to have the pictures in his possession?”

Flynn, whose service number was C/KX 143595, was described as a stoker first class. Records show that he is commemorated somewhere in Britain.

Richards was an able seaman and son of Herbert John and Dora Richards, of West Kensington, London. His service number was C/JX 548878.

Nicholson, whose service number was CH/X 106325, was described as a Marine.

Can anyone throw any light on the mystery?

 

Memory Lane this week