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COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WAR II GIERLE

On May 11th 2025, I was traditionally present at the commemoration of the Second World War in Gierle (Lille). The 16th edition of this beautiful and respectful commemoration was once again a beautiful and modest tribute to the people who worked during World War II to stop the German aggressors.

In the vicinity of Gierle, 4 planes came down, three of which were bombers, being two B-24 Liberators, a Halifax and one fighter, a P-51 Mustang.
Thanks to a number of resistance fighters, a number of pilots, crew members and other soldiers were able to go into hiding and flee back to Great Britain to once again fight the German troops on the mainland. A young man from Gierle, Boni Mellaerts, was one of those brave resistance fighters.
Boni, then a young man of 17 years old, despite his young age, already risked his life to keep people out of the hands of the German occupiers. At the risk of his own life, Boni, soon to be 98 years young, also saved several pilots who crashed in the area of ??Gierle. Family members of one of the crashed bombers, the Handley-Page Halifax III - LL584 of the 578 Squadron Royal Air Force that crashed on 11/09/1944 near the Lilse runway in Gierle, were present at the memorial, as they always do every year. Boni saved the pilot of the Halifax, Douglas Wood, from his precarious situation and thus prevented the Germans from taking him prisoner of war. After a search that lasted for years, the pilot found his guardian angel again. They met in Gierle and from then on an everlasting bond of friendship was forged between the Wood and Mellaerts families and later also with the other family members of the crew.

Boni, our deepest respect and boundless gratitude for your heroic deeds!
We were very happy that you could be there.

Because pictures say more than words, we have summarized the chronological course of the commemoration for you in the accompanying photo report.

This 16th edition was once again a beautiful commemoration that, as always, was prepared and executed down to the last detail.
Congratulations to the organizers for once again making it a beautiful moment of reflection. Let us hope that people learn from the past and the current freedom-threatening situations, in order to build a peaceful and tolerant future!

You can find an overview of the commemorations over the years here.

(Article: Geoff Wood & Jef Pets - Pictures: Jef Pets)

Click on the first picture below for the photographic overview of the commmemoration.
Click on the second picture for a short video clip.