Date awaited for German War Graves headstone installation in West Somerset cemetery

A SPECIALLY-commissioned headstone which is to be placed on the West Somerset grave of a German airman shot down 86 years ago has arrived in the UK.

It will replace a wooden cross which has identified the burial plot of Wilhelm Reuhl in Porlock’s Hawkcombe Cemetery.

Luftwaffe corporal Reuhl, aged 18, died when a Junkers 88 in which he was a gunner was shot down over Porlock Bay by an RAF Spitfire on September 27, 1940.

He was given a full military funeral with a Nazi swastika laid over his coffin, and his grave has been tended by villagers ever since.

However, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has been working in partnership with its German equivalent, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, on a permanent gravestone.

A CWGC spokesperson said: “For decades, his grave has been marked by a simple wooden cross, initially with a temporary CWGC grave marker, which was replaced several times by the local community.

“The new headstone will be installed later this year, ensuring Wilhelm Reuhl’s resting place continues to be cared for in perpetuity.”

The spokesperson said the German War Grave headstone had been crafted in the CWGC’s France office as part of ongoing CWGC and Volksbund efforts to ensure all war dead, regardless of nationality, were commemorated with dignity.

They said: “More than 7,000 German service personnel from both world wars are buried in the UK, with the majority resting at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery, in Staffordshire, which is currently undergoing a major renovation project.”

Porlock Parish Council, which maintains the Hawkcombe burial ground, said a family representative would be the local contact for the CWGC going forward and for event planning, with councillors engaged as required.

A council spokesperson said they were awaiting the Volksbund and German Embassy to propose some dates and a schedule for the event.