'We shall remember them' The Leeds brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice

Brothers and Royal Air Force pilots Geoffrey and Hugh Harrison from Leeds 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.

Fast forward forward to 2022 and a commemorative plaque is set to be unveiled at La Pellerine on Thursday (June 9) honouring the brothers’ sacrifice.

The ceremony will be 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 and has been consulted as the design of the plaque and plans for the unveiling ceremony on June 9.

The plaque will be inside the church, near the commune’s memorial for the fallen of the First and Second World Wars. The church is only a few metres from the cemetery where

F/Lt Harrison is buried.

He told the YEP the ceremony and plaque would be a fitting tribute.

"They were both remarkable people," said Mr Hall. "They were brave and courageous and it is important their heroic actions will be remembered and live on. The ceremony will be very fitting. I am beyond proud of them both."