Candlelit Christmas Remembrance at Stonefall Cemetery Recap

The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF) was pleased to host a Candlelit Christmas Remembrance at Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate yesterday (Sunday 15th December).

The now annual event was inspired by local mum Benji Walker who had seen images of CWGC cemeteries in Europe lit by candlelight. 

She said: “Today was our seventh annual event and despite the very windy weather I was delighted to see so many people gathering together today to mark the sacrifice of the hundreds of CWGC casualties buried at Stonefall, many of them thousands of miles from home. It was particularly gratifying to see the younger generations represented through the Army and Sea cadets who attended as well as the Youth Ambassador for Harrogate International Partnerships (HIP). I would also like to thank HIP for donating £100 towards the cost of buying the candles”

Members of the public placed tealights on the graves of the fallen and this was followed by a short service of Remembrance. Harrogate’s MP, Tom Gordon, and Charter Mayor, Chris Aldred were amongst those who laid wreaths. 

Many of those buried at Stonefall Cemetery were bomber crew, this year the story of the crew of the Halifax bomber MZ538 was highlighted. This crew of eight men, took off on an operational flight from an airfield in North Yorkshire on the 18th December 1944. Shortly after take-off, the plane lost height and crashed. Upon impact the bomb load on the aircraft exploded, the aircraft was destroyed and all on board were killed. 

The seven Canadians in the crew were buried at Stonefall Cemetery with the remaining crew member, a Brit serving with the RAF, being buried in Carlisle near his family.  

Benji Walker, whose son served in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment and now works as a Skilled Maintenance Craftsperson for the CWGC, also used the event to raise money for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Help for Heroes. Over £200 was raised and members of the public can still sponsor a candle with the profits being split between the charities. 

With more than 1,000 Commonwealth war graves, Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England. The majority of burials are airmen who died during the Second World War when bomber command bases were established across Yorkshire. More than 600 of the casualties served with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Many of them were teenagers with the youngest being two 17-year-olds.

CWGC Public Engagement Coordinator, Elizabeth Smith, said: “We’re grateful that Benji has once again organised this very special event. It offers people the opportunity to pause from the busyness of Christmas and to pay their respects to the fallen in a very poignant way. At the end of the Second World War, local people were encouraged to adopt the war graves of the Canadian servicemen and lay wreaths on behalf of their families at Christmas. We are carrying on that tradition through this service. The Candlelit Christmas Remembrance has now become an annual event and we hope it will continue for years to come.”

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Smith.