On Saturday August 23, 2025, the day before the commemoration of the Liberation of France in thatregion, a permanent memorial was inaugurated in tribute to the seven airmen by the village of Bransles (Seine-et-Marne, France, located approximately 100 km south of Paris).
The ceremony took place on communal ground opposite the Bransles cemetery, not far from the site of the crash. It was attended by 350 people, including flag bearers, representatives of the Royal Air ForceAssociation and French and British civil and military authorities.
Twenty-five British citizens, representing the families of five of the seven airmen, travelled there from all over the United Kingdom, and even Germany.
Among them were nine members of the Easby family from Yorkshire, covering three generations.
Preserving the Duty of Remembrance
During his speech the Mayor of Bransles, Florent Négrier emphasised that "Our desire is both to preserve the duty of remembrance and to inscribe this story in the history of the village".
Hughes Roy, the master of ceremonies who had traced the families of the airmen, after describing the circumstances of the crash and introducing each airman individually, concluded with this:
"Every time we pass along the Chemin de César (the site where the Lancaster crashed) let usremember these seven airmen. These fields, north of the Chemin de César are sacred, as are theVerdun battlefields of 1914-1918, because they carry within them the remains of this aircraft and her crew. The earth does not forget, let us not forget."
Speeches by representatives of some the airmen's families expressed their eternal gratitude to theBransles community, which has always remembered the airmen and cared for their graves.
Other speakers followed, including Bill Beauclerk (president of the Libre Résistance Association, whose goal is to preserve the memory of the men and women of Section F of the Special Operations Service during the Second World War).
He described the courage and sacrifice of the airmen of Bomber Command : of the 125,000 men who made up the crews, 57,000 were killed in action. This was the highest loss rate of any Allied unit.
The crew were given Military honours, and the last post was played by a member of the RAF Association.
Following the main ceremony there was a moment of reflection at the graves of these airmen in the Bransles cemetery and the airmen's families laid flowers on the graves.
The poppy wreath of the EASBY family bore the dedication: “In Remembrance Norman Wilson EASBY, your sixty relatives and their families, commemorate you with pride, united in our love and respect”
Other graves in the cemetery, of soldiers who died for France, were marked with a small French flagto show that the British airmen rest with their brothers in sacrifice.
"The village of Bransles will continue to honour the memory of these airmen, aged 19 to 32, who sacrificed themselves true to the motto of 106 Squadron, "Pro Libertate."
Our thanks go to Pilot Officer Norman Wilson Easby; Flight Sergeants Anthony Robinson and John Arthur Glanville Dixon; and Sergeants George Alec Collison, David Hetherington, Eric Philip Richomme, and Leonard Keith Webb."
