We are here today to honour the memory of those men and women of all nations who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.

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1 Ladies and Gentlemen, We are here today to honour the memory of those men and women of all nations who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. When considering the level of sacrifice that has brought us here today, it is somewhat pertinent to note that this year marks the 100 th anniversary of the First World War Battle of the Somme. The Battle of the Somme took place between 01 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France hence the name. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front. More than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. On that first day of July in 1916, after days of intense bombardment, 100,000 British, Commonwealth and French troops emerged from their trenches and attacked the German defences. By the end of that day there had been 57,470 British casualties, greater than the total combined British casualties in the Crimean, Boer, and Korean wars. Of these 57,470 casualties, one third of them (19,240) had been killed. By the time the offensive ended in November, 141 days later, the British and Commonwealth had suffered around 420,000 casualties of which 95,675 had

2 been killed, the French about 200,000 casualties of which 51,000 had been killed. German casualty numbers were around 465,000 of whom 165,000 were killed. In order to preserve the memory of those individuals who gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice for their countries, the German War Graves commission looks after 832 military cemeteries in 45 countries with about 2.6 million dead, while the Commonwealth War Graves commission commemorates the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars around the world. Here in Malabo cemetery lie the 10 man crew of Sunderland ML811 Flying Boat of the 302 Flying Training Unit. On 03 June, 1944 they were flying in transit from the United Kingdom to South East Asia Air Command and had left Royal Air Force Station Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria for Royal Air Force Advanced Base Libreville, Gabon. The aircraft overflew Santa Isabel (now Malabo) around noon on 03 June It flew at an altitude of around 200 meters in an easterly direction along the coast. Unfortunately, the aircraft ran into a severe storm and crashed in the vicinity of Baney. All the crew were killed instantly except Sgt. Best who died in hospital the next day. They were buried right here with full military honours by the Spanish authorities. Their names are:

3 WILLIAM BEST SHEFFIELD, YORKSHIRE Age: 26 GEORGE ERNEST CHAPLIN GRAYS, ESSEX FLIGHT SERGEANT ROYAL AIRFORCE AGE: 22 JJ DUFFY WORTWELL, NORFOLK FLIGHT AGE: 27 THOMAS DOGLAS ELLIOTT MILLERSTON, STRATHCLYDE AGE: 25 JOHN PETER GONDOLA KINGSBURY, LONDON FLIGHT LIEUTENANT ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE AGE: 20

4 ROBERT HARTLEY GRAHAM NORTH SHIELDS, TYNE AND WEAR FLYING OFFICER ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE AGE: 23 HAROLD HENRY THOMAS JAMES WALLINGFORD, OXFORDSHIRE AGE: UNKNOWN ROLAND GEORGE LINDSAY PITCAPLE, GRAMPIAN SERGEANT ROYAL AIR FORCE AGE: 26 MAURICE MUNNS SOUTH NORWOOD, LONDON SERGEANT ROYAL AIR FORCE AGE: 22 STANLEY WILLIAM ROLPH MARKS TEY, ESSEX FLIGHT AGE: 21

5 From the words of Laurence Binyon s poem For the Fallen written in September 1914: They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We shall remember them. Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask you for a minute s silence in honour of those that gave their lives that we may be here today. Thank you. I would now like to hand over the microphone to Germany s Ambassador to EG. Ambassador Jakobs.