208542 P/O William Stuart McMullen Royal Canadian Air Force 428 Squadron from:Lulu Island, British Columbia, Canada. (d.13th Jan 1945) As an ex-Darlington resident I am very interested to learn more about William Stuart McMullen, Canadian Pilot killed when his Lancaster crashed on the outskirts of the town in 1945.
Our family does have some connection to the McMullen story as my father was apparently one of the first on the scene after the crash. He did tell my mother that he helped to extricate the pilot from the plane but on reading the documented reports it would appear that P/O McMullen had already been ejected from the plane when it crashed, so maybe my father helped remove him from the debris and from the seat which he apparently was still strapped to. Details of P/O McMullens injuries were passed on to us but obviously that is something which needs no re-telling. I have no reason to doubt my father’s claims and indeed he was quite emotional in the re-telling of the event.
I recently learned that Mr McMullen is buried in Stonefall Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves section here in Harrogate and on Saturday I visited his grave. I’m so glad I took some flowers as his is one of the few graves which does not bear any floral tribute. Almost all of the others have a rose bush or some other shrub and the overall effect is one of tranquil beauty. I found the experience very emotional and the connection with Darlington, my late parents etc was quite overwhelming. This brave pilot saved the lives of so many and who knows, maybe I wouldn’t be here to tell this tale had he baled out and allowed the aircraft crash onto Eastbourne area of the town which my parents lived in.
I am very surprised that for his heroic gesture McMullen was not recognised with some sort of posthumous commendation/medal and wondered if there was any way of setting the wheels in motion in order for this to happen? Also, I would love to make contact with his daughter, Dona Mae Barber, in Canada or other relatives to ascertain what, if anything, they would like to have put on his grave. I would love to dedicate this with a rose or similar floral tribute.
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