A corner of a foreign field

The grave of Flight Lieutenant J Higgins, from the RAF, occupies a quiet corner of one of Fethiye’s graveyards. The story of how he ended up being buried in a corner of a ‘foreign field’ reserved for non-Muslims required some dedicated research but thanks to retired RAF Group Capt. Peter Rogers, a regular visitor to Fethiye and Kayaköy, the resulting story, dating from the early years of the 1950s deserves to be told.

There are occasions when quiet contemplation is just what’s needed and where better than a peaceful graveyard? Wherever they are in the world a cemetery seems to encourage meditation and a feeling of tranquillity, albeit sometimes touched with melancholy. There is something poignant about lives that have passed; simply recorded as a name and a date, perhaps with some other scant detail, which puts our own firmly into perspective.

One such grave is that of 27-year-old Flight Lieutenant J Higgins from the British Royal Air Force. He died on 24^th November 1951. A few metres away are four more graves: Flight Officers Muhammad Safdar Jaffrey, Syed Izam Haider, Muhammad Akbar Malik and Fakhre Alam Siddiqui, all from the Pakistan Air Force. They all lost their lives on the same day but only the latter four graves give the reason why: they died in an air crash.

Google reveals nothing but fortunately the archives of The Air Historical Branch (RAF), part of the British Ministry of Defence, were able to shed light on this little known tragedy and in a very helpful and comprehensive letter to Group Captain Peter F. Rogers, OBE, BA, FRPSL, Royal Air Force (Retired),  they explained the sad story of how these young men came to be buried in Fethiye. Let their words relate the fate of these five men:

“Flt Lt Higgins was on volunteer service with the Royal Pakistan Air Force. In November 1951 the RPAF sent 2 Bristol Freighters (Nos G789 and G792) to the UK pick up stores for the RPAF and return to Karachi.

“Both aircraft from 6 Squadron RPAF took off from Bovingdon on 22 November 1951, and called in at RAF Lyneham to obtain the necessary clearances before proceeding back to Karachi in stages. Flt Lt Higgins was undertaking screening duties. On 24 November Nicosia reported that Freighter G792 was overdue; it had taken off at 1354 hours GMT from Athens bound for Nicosia [Lefkoşa] and was last contacted at 1504 hrs.

“A search for the missing Bristol Freighter was carried out by the RAF and Turkish air forces. On 26 November the wreckage was found in the Ak Dağı Mountains at a position given as **** N and **** E. The bodies of the crew were recovered and buried at Fethiye with full military honours and in accordance with their religious beliefs.

“On the night of the accident it was raining and the aircraft struck the peak at a height of about 8,000 feet. In addition to Flt Lt Higgins there were four members of the RPAF on board the aircraft.”

Nowadays it would be possible to repatriate the bodies of the dead airmen to their own countries for burial but in those days morgue facilities in this region were very limited and with no or little electricity and only one ice factory in the town a speedy burial was required. As a result these men were laid to rest in Fethiye. From time to time those who remember them place flowers on their graves.

Local legends of that fateful night have developed over the years and old timers still talk about the event. Almost certainly the real facts have blurred over the years and what was a tragic accident took on new and mysterious dimensions but ultimately this is simply a sad story of a tragic accident.

NB: The prefix Royal was removed when Pakistan became a republic on 23 March 1956. It has since been called the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

Courtesy: A Guide to Fethiye city http://aguidetofethiye.com/2012/07/03/a-corner-of-a-foreign-field/