Group with three plaques holding pieces of aircraft wreckage relating to Rehborn memorial dedication

Plaques presented to Bruce York, Richard York and Tim Mornin. The Mayor of Rehborn, Herr Thomas Link (second from right), presented plaques (with attached artefacts of the Halifax aircraft MZ647 that they recently recovered from the crash site) to Bruce York (left), Richard York (centre) and Tim Mornin (right).

One of a collection of images relating to a dedication of a memorial walk and seats in Rehborn, Germany. The walk and seats honour a crew from No. 102 Squadron RAF killed on operations when shot down over Rehborn by a German night figher aircraft on the night of 13 August 1944. The crew was 428858 Pilot Officer (PO) George York RAAF, bomb aimer; Roy H Osborne, RAF; 423726 PO Alf H Harvey; Sergeant Jack Finney, RAF; 422825 Flying Officer E Young, pilot; 423711 PO Johnnie G Gordon. Bruce York (son of George York) and Tim Mornin (son of the widow of Jack Finney) contacted the mayor, Herr Thomas Link, and historian, Herr Rainer Thielen, of Rehborn, and, in agreement with them, they donated some park benches around the town with the names of the eight crew members on a plaque on each bench. The town council of Rehborn prepared signs in German and English explaining the story of the crash, a significant event in the town's history as it was the only allied aircraft to crash in the area during the war.

A ceremony was held at 3pm on Friday 4 August 2017 to open a memorial walk around the village. Brue York and his English friend Tim Mornin gave a short speech at the unveiling. Two of the eight seats are located slightly off the walk but in significant places in the town (one at the cemetery where they were initially buried).

An extract of Bruce York's speech noted:
"War is a terrible thing. No one really wins, especially not those who pay with their lives. As even a brief overview of history shows, apparently harmless beginnings can quickly develop their own momentum, with disastrous consequences. Let us hope and pray such an event never occurs again.
We therefore look to the future, with confidence that the sacrifices made on both sides of this awful conflict saved mankind from tyranny, and hope that this will bring everlasting peace and freedom to us all. It is also my hope that the memories created by this wonderful walk and seating facilities will be a sign of the friendship between our nations."