A STIRRING service in memory of six brave airmen, who died after crashing into the Milford Haven waterway, took place on Sunday (April 22).

The event parade also paid tribute to troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) who gave their life in the First World War.

The haunting sound of the Last Post lingered in the air, as wreaths were laid by members of the Royal British Legion, the Mayor of Milford Haven, local cadets, and guest of honour Australian Army colonel Sue Graham.

Colonel Graham spoke of the combined loss of Australian, New Zealand and Welsh troops in the First World War.

“Being in Wales today, I am reminded that Anzac Day commemorates a shared loss,” she said.

“One in five of those who volunteered for war service in Australia in 1914 were British-born and the war that was to end all wars tragically set the conditions for a devastating Second World War just 20 years later.

“I am reminded when talking of war it is easy to lose the individual.

“But each soldier, sailor, airman and airwoman had a story.

“They were part of a family and their death left a hole in families that endures.

“This memorial also highlights that wars aren’t just fought on distant battlefields but enter every space of civilian life and ripple through them in devastating ways.”

Milford Haven’s Anzac Day service was started by the late Frank Stammars, whose widow Jean said would have been proud of this year’s impressive turn-out.

Legion branch vice chairman Neil Jackson, who now organises the annual event, said it was important to commemorate the town’s link with the southern hemisphere.

In 1942, a Wellington bomber with a crew of five Australian and one English man got into difficulty while flying over Pembrokeshire.

In a bid to avoid serious damage to civilians and property, the pilot tried to steer the plane to the Haven waterway.

Tragically, the plane came into contact with the old ice factory at Milford Docks, crashing nose-down into the earth bank in front of Hamilton Terrace, and exploding into flames.

All six were killed.

But more than 70 years on, the people of Milford Haven are still grateful for their sacrifice.