Fitting tribute to the Leeds brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice

Royal Air Force pilots Geoffrey and Hugh Harrison were the brothers who never came home after the Second World War ended.

They lost their lives during combat within 42 days of each other in the summer of 1944.

Flight lieutenant Geoffrey Austen Harrison, a Spitfire pilot with 616 Squadron, died on June 12 in the French commune of La Pellerine, after aerial combat with a German aircraft.

The 24-year-old was in pursuit of a ME 109 when the pilot's wing tip removed the tail of the 109, causing it to crash almost immediately. Documented by a fellow pilot in a Combat Report, this counted as a “victory” for Harrison, the fifth of his career, earning him the designation of 'Fighter Ace.' Harrison’s aircraft, also damaged, flew on for a while before crashing in a field.

Two local men Gabriel Cheul and Constant Coutard, working nearby, tried to rescue the pilot from the burning wreckage of his Spitfire, to no avail. The description of the attempts to rescue F/Lt Harrison from the wreckage are based on the eye-witness testimony of Constant Coutard, who was seven-years-old in 1944 and his sister, Genevieve, then aged eight. Their father was one of the two men who attempted to rescue the pilot.

His younger brother, Squadron leader Hugh Raymond Harrison was the pilot of a Lancaster bomber of 625 squadron. He died in July 1944 after he and his crew of six failed to return from a mission to bomb Kiel in Germany.

S/Ldr Harrison’s remains and those of his crew were never found. Their names are on the RAF Memorial at Runnymede for those with no known grave.

Although only 22 years old, S/Ldr Harrison was the veteran of 84 sorties. Just two months before his death he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for outstanding courage and leadership.

The pair's ultimate sacrifice has now been recognised with a commemorative plaque unveiled at La Pellerine.

The ceremony was attended by the Geoffrey Hall, the nephew of fallen airmen who both attended Roundhay School and whose family home was Moortown.

Geoffrey, and sister Fiona, have provided family memorabilia in the form of documents and photographs.

The ceremony featured a wreath laying at Geoffrey Harrison's grave followed by a minute's silence before local schoolchildren read the story of the two brothers to the invited audience.

A plaque commemorating the two pilots has just been fixed inside the church near the war memorial. Mr Hall visited the crash site and met the eye witnesses and will receive an identical commemorative plaque.

He said: "It was a very emotional and extremely moving ceremony. I was very grateful to everyone who attended. The plaque will ensure that the brothers memory and story lives on for future generations."