Last Long Shadow by Anthony Saunders. (B)

Lancaster CF-X (LM384) of 625 Squadron. On the Leipzig raid on the evening of 19th/20th February 1944 approx 47 Lancasters were shot down or failed to return, that is over 300 airmen. Lancaster CF-X (LM384) was taking part in the bombing raids that were a build up to the D-Day landings of June 1944. Leipzig was seen as a high value target due to its oil and synthetic fuel production. The Lancaster took off from Kelstern in Lincolnshire just before midnight. Unfortunately LM384 did not come back as was the case with many others - the aircraft was lost and crashed just outside the tiny village of Bledeln in Germany. The Pastor of the village, Herr Duncker, kept a diary throughout the war and has an account of the plane crash and the subsequent burial of the crew. All of the crew died in the crash except one - bomb aimer George Paterson who was interned in Stalag 357 Kopernikus. The rest of the crew were given a Christian burial and stayed there until the end of the war, when the war graves commission disinterred the crew and reburied them in the Hannover war cemetery.

Signed by Flt Lt George Harris DFC
and
Sgt George B Thomson.

Harris / Thomson RAF signature series edition of 100 prints from the signed limited edition of 2500 prints.

Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm)