Members of the Crew of Halifax JP244 laid to rest at Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery

The remains of members of the crew of Halifax JP244 were laid to rest with full honours on Wednesday, 24th October, at Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery, Albania.

Halifax JP244 was part of No. 148 Squadron. The Squadron took off from RAF Brindisi, Italy on 29 October 1944 to carry out a supply dropping mission, code named ‘Operation Tinker’, to the Special Operations Executive in Albania. Nothing further was heard from the crew and all seven were recorded as Killed in Action on 29 October 1944 and were commemorated upon the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Malta Memorial.

During October 2017, the remote crash site of Halifax JP244 was located near Bize, Albania and the remains of members of the crew were recovered. The remains were laid to rest with full honours on Wednesday 24^th October, at Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery, Albania.

Eleni Kakkava, CWGC said “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is honoured to commemorate by name those airmen of 148 Squadron who flew and died together on 29 October 1944, on the Malta Air Forces Memorial. Today we are deeply moved to be able to lay members of the Crew of Halifax JP244 to rest in the Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery and mark their grave with a CWGC headstone. We remember their sacrifice and that of all those who served and will care for their graves and their memory with dedication, forever.” 

Due to the political situation in Albania at the end of the Second World War the Graves Registration Unit was only able to concentrate a small number of casualties into a site in the capital, Tirana, before being refused further access to the country. The Communist authorities later moved the burials to a collective grave near the university buildings. When the Commonwealth War Graves Commission returned in 1994, Special Memorials were placed in a new site nearby, now known as the CWGC’s Tirana Park Memorial Cemetery. The remains of the crew of Halifax JP244 is the only burial within this site.

The burial service was organised by the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, Ministry of Defence and was attended by family members, British Defence Staff, RAF representatives, and CWGC staff.