'Significant' act as WW2 German airman gets headstone

A headstone to remember a German airman killed in World War Two has been hailed as an "immensely significant" act of reconciliation.

Wilhelm Reuhl, 20, was buried at Hawkcombe Cemetery in Porlock, Somerset, after his aircraft was shot down in 1940. His grave was marked with a wooden cross for 86 years, but has now been upgraded.

Dirk Backen, secretary general of the German War Graves Commission, said it is the first of 327 graves they will look to take care of, adding: "It's a blueprint story of reconciliation after war, it's a story of how to make peace."

Sabine Reuhl, the niece of Wilhelm, said the village's empathy and outpouring of sympathy has "brought great comfort to our family".

A special rededication ceremony honouring Wilhelm's life was jointly held at St Dubricius church by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and the German War Graves Commission.

Charles Garrett, director of global strategy and international relations at CWGC, said the headstone is an "immensely significant" act of reconciliation.

Sabine said her family had been moved by the people of Porlock, who had "cared for Wilhelm as if he had been their own deceased son or brother, even though he had come to their country as an adversary".

"Although Wilhelm's young life was cut short by war almost 86 years ago, our family has never forgotten him.

"This end marked the beginning of a new, different story, one full of hope and comfort.

"This empathy and outpouring of sympathy brought great comfort to our family," she added.

On 27 September 1940, Wilhelm Reuhl was one of four crew members on a German aircraft.

They had been on a reconnaissance flight but were intercepted over Bristol by three British Spitfire fighters.

The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on Porlock Beach.

While three members of the crew survived and were taken prisoner, Reuhl was killed in the incident.

For decades, his grave was marked by a simple wooden cross and cared for by local people.

Following the ceremony, the CWGC will continue to maintain the grave on behalf of Germany.

Backen said that reconciliation does not mean to forgive the past or to forget the past.

"It liberates the future for the next generations.

"What better story can you tell than telling this? And you can tell it here in Porlock," he added.

Garrett said the new headstone is "immensely significant".

"On one level it's about one person: a German casualty from 1940.

"But on a much more important level, it's about the personal act of reconciliation, and bringing communities together again in a way which is so important to erstwhile enemies like Britain and Germany," Garrett added.

Susanne Baumann, the German ambassador to the UK, said Porlock tells a particularly remarkable story of British-German reconciliation.

"It is deeply moving that the grave of a German airman who fell in Porlock Bay as an enemy has been so faithfully tended by the local community for over 86 years.

"The people of Porlock have demonstrated, through this extraordinary act of reconciliation, the values that unite us today, including the belief in a dignified burial for every human being.

"I am profoundly grateful for this farsighted act of friendship," she added.

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