We welcomed members of the Intelligence Corps to the ceremony this month.

We had several Individual Remembrances this month. In the closing month of the Battle of Britain, 85 years ago today, Pilot Office Norman Sutton of 72 Squadron, at Biggin Hill and Flying Officer Wojciech Januszewich of 303 Squadron based at Northholt were killed on the 5th October 1940.

Pilot Officer Normon Sutton died when his plane collided with another, whose pilot survived, while taking off from Biggin Hill to intercept ME109s over Maidstone. Sutton’s Spitfire crashed and burned out. Sutton was 26 years old when he died. He is buried in St. Helen’s Cemetry, Lancashire.

Flying Officer Wojciech Januszewich was killed when his Hurricane was shot down by ME109s, crashing in flames at Stowting in Kent. Januszewich was 29. He is buried in Northwood Cemetery and is remembered on the Polish Air Force War Memorial at Northholt.

80 years ago today on 5th October 1945, the Elvetham are crash occurred. The crash involved a Consolidated Liberator GR VI aircraft, serial number KG867, of 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron Royal Air Force. The aircraft caught fire five minutes into its flight and crashed at Elvetham, east of Hartley Wintney, Hampshire. All 23 people on board were killed—17 official passengers, five crew members and one stowaway.

All 23 victims were Czechoslovak and included nine women and five very young children. They were returning home after World War II. All five of the aircrew were buried in the Czechoslovak section of Brookwood Military Cemetery and most of the passengers share a common grave in the civilian cemetery in Long Avenue called the Old Roman Catholic Ground. The remaining five are buried elsewhere.

Flight Sergeant Zdenĕk Sedlák and his wife Edita Sedláková, Aircraftwoman 1st Class of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force were onboard the aircraft and are buried together here in Brookwood.

Captain William Goodwin of the Intelligence Corps, service number 295087 served in various roles during World War II, including the Royal Fusiliers (TA), the Royal Berkshire Regiment, the Corps of Military Police and the Intelligence Corps.

In June 1942 he attended Sandhurst as an officer cadet and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps in October 1942. After further intelligence and counter-intelligence training, he served with Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and was promoted to active captain in March 1945.

In July 1945, with the war in Europe over, Goodwin was attached to the Counter Intelligence Bureau of the Control Commission for Germany, but based in London at Oxford Circus. He was at home in London when, on the evening of 29th September 1945, his wife found him lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. He was still alive, but died soon after admission in hospital.

The Coroner’s verdict was that he had taken his own life when the balance of his mind was disturbed. He is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery in Plot 5, Row E, Grave 17, he was 27 years old.

After the ceremony, we slipped round to the Trench Experience to continue the stories.

Thank you to Stephen Newson and Paul McCue for the Individual Remembrances, and Mike Hillman for the photos.

We had ten standards on parade today on a pleasant summer’s day.

Our Individual Remembrance was Corporal Roland Le Folet Hoffman of the 6th Division Intelligence Section, Australian Army Intelligence Corps. He died of self-inflicted wounds 80 years ago today. Full research from Paul McCue is included below:

Rev. Peter Hills talked about the Korean War that 75 years ago the Americans had entered, and VJ Day that 80 years ago brought formally the end of war in the far east.

The ceremony was recorded and may be viewed here.

Afterwards we retired to the Trench Experience for refreshments and the stories continued.

Thank you to Mike Hillman for the photos, Paul McCue for the research and text for the Individual Remembrance and Alan Meeks for the video.

A minute before the ceremony was due to start, the heavens opened and a good sized audience were left hoping for a short ceremony.

We were honoured that the Assistant Defence Attaché, Warrent Officer Sven Berg represented the Belgian Embassy and was a special guest at the ceremony. We were also grateful to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for joining us again.

Our Individual Remembrance was Lieutenant Eugène Francis Levene. Born in Liège, Belgium on 14 June 1912, the only son of Belgian parents Eugène Felinque and Marie-Louise Felinque (née Marquet). On 29 March 1945 at KZ-Flossenbürg concentration camp in Germany Levene was executed by hanging. He was aged 32.

Below is comprehensive research into his life and death by Paul McCue and the Secret World War 2 Learning Network.

We have heard the poem before, but with our special guest, was certainly apt for the ceremony. Our poem was ‘The Belgian Flag’, written by the Belgian author and First World War poet Émile Cammaerts.

There were nine standards on parade with Alan Lopez and Dennis Stewart parading the BLP and Union Flag respectively.

Paul McCue delivered the Individual Remembrance, Mrs Ruth Moore sounded the Last Post and Rob Bennet said the wise words.

The rain held off for most of the ceremony but we took the opportunity to go to the Trench Experience to dry off and have some refreshments.

Thank you to Paul McCue for the Individual Remembrance and Mike Hillman for the photographs.