During the summer of the long hot Albania in 1998, the Embassy was contacted by mayor Saranda. Saranda is a medium-sized coastal town, located near the Greek border, was a popular holiday resort on a tropical island in Corfu's diametrically opposite. The mayor told the residents of the village of Drovian located in the mountain just above Saranda took contact. Likewise, the villager, his family, and the whole village had secrets for decades.
During World War II, when Italians invaded Britain's fighter Albania during battle, a collision with an Italian machine occurred and a burning pilot flew away. He landed just outside the village and, despite the villagers' soft ministries, he died sadly from his wounds. The villagers buried him in the unmarked tomb of the courtyard of the village's house. They did not want Italians to find him.
After the war, denying the intensive British military aid given to him in the British life aspect of the emergence of a brutal and repressive Hokuha communist regime and the liberation of the country by defeating the military occupiers, the villagers They did not tell anyone outside the village about the hidden British tomb if they bring for the collaborators. So, he was in this unknown British airline for more than 50 years. Under these circumstances it is worth noting that the villagers were able to keep this secret for many years. The word leaked to the authorities should have instantaneous and severe punishment for the whole village.
The ambassador asked if I wanted to take this as a project like Royal Air Force I read. Therefore, my first port was the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in Maidenhead, England. This organization is responsible for the maintenance of all British war cemetery around the world. In addition to helping them, they conveyed all the details of the incidents I have collected so far from the mayor of Sarande's office.
CWGC investigated the incident and eventually returned to me. They confirmed to me that a British aircraft was truly shot down in a particular area of Albania. They suggested that the cemetery must remain on the village site and not move to Tirana's small CWGC cemetery until adequate investigation was done.
A couple of weeks later, CWGC contacted me again and confirmed that he confirmed RAF's action report and explanation from pilot RAF company survivors. I was flying a 22 year old Harold Sykes officer. I asked him if Tirana and we could carry it to Drovian. I thought that this was possible and reassured them that we would carry out the work. And then, as long as the CWGC carved tombstone arrived through the diplomatic bag and applied to my promise, I got down to Drovian and prepared to do it.
Therefore, a cold, crisp and crisp winter morning, my driver, an interpreter of Embassy working locally and I departed on the road for a 300 km trip to the south. We took a coastal road. It seemed safer and eventually reached Saranda late afternoon. After having a night there, we accompanied the mayor and departed the next morning for the mountain village.
Unfortunately, due to the mountainous region, our 4 wheel drive Landcruisers could not negotiate the orbit and the terrain leading us to Drovian. Therefore, thanks to the mayor, we hired six horses to carry cargo with us, not a comfortable experience!
Finally, after experiencing severe fatigue in the saddle for several hours, we reached the village. The villagers who had been foretold of the arrival of the mayor did a nice lunch for a delicious community. After lunch, we all took a walk through a small village. The villagers obviously cherished the fields and the houses. This view was always destroyed by usual blotches in the existing pink box landscape, but here it is even higher in the mountains (Hokuha, through the country that was obsessed with the fear of foreigners) We built more than a million such concrete pill boxes). When they were asked why they just did not destroy these pill boxes, they think that the villagers were indeed a very practical and wise use of these concrete bubbles when they asked for cigarette crops It was very useful for keeping.
They led us to a small building courtyard called the church of the twelve apostles with graveyards. That happened that Harold was not alone. Next to his grave is the grave of an unknown Greek soldier, and the villagers buried after finding ruins in the hill towards the end of the war. They also told them that they told the Greek embassy in Tirana about the soldiers and their embassy is still trying to identify him.
We unloaded the headstone from the vehicle and unraveled it. And with the help of the villagers, we firmly solidified it to the head of the tomb. I said prayers on the grave that I did, as the only Christian existence, and some villagers gathered around the site, some Muslims, colorful wild flowers in the graveyard I was honoring her with a dignified attitude with two women in the village being spread. After that I took some pictures of the site and sent it back to CWGC.
Before taking a vacation in the village, one of the elder made a big bag. He came back to me. Among them were old pieces of uniforms belonging to Airman, parachute and harness fragments.
Taking the vacation of the villagers, we switched to the village mule to go down the mountain back to the car and travel. I bid farewell to the mayor, thankful for all his help and departed for a 300 km return trip to Tirana.
The next day, back to the embassy, I wrote a report on CWGC and distributed various items given to me in Drovian. Later, I learned that my complete report, pictures, returned items were given to the surviving members of the Harold family who can visit the Drovian Cemetery several years later.
Until today, Harold is still buried in this small Albania village. His tomb tended by people who cared for him for years since finding him. CWGC agreed that his tomb will remain in the village and should not be transferred to Tyrana's small official British war cemetery. Despite the fact that the villagers did not purchase, the CWGC was not asked for any form of reward for the maintenance of the cemetery.
This was not my cooperation with CWGC. A few years later, North Korea had to fulfill a similar mission in more difficult situations.
