St. Hilary Church, Killay — Remembered

Set on the edge of Killay, overlooking the quiet landscapes of Gower, St. Hilary’s Churchyard holds within its walls the stories of war, sacrifice, and remembrance. From the first burials of young airmen in 1941 to the final resting places of soldiers, sailors, and one German airman, the churchyard became during the Second World War a place where the global conflict touched deeply on local ground.

Here, men from Britain, the Commonwealth, the United States, Canada, Newfoundland, and Czechoslovakia—and one from Germany—lie side by side. Many were just beginning their adult lives, cut down in training accidents or combat operations; others were older veterans, returning to service after already enduring the First World War. One woman, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, lies among them, reminding us that the burdens of war were carried not by men alone but by women who stepped forward in new and vital roles.

St. Hilary’s is more than a burial ground—it is a book of history written in stone. Each headstone speaks of courage, loss, and devotion, chosen words from grieving families linking Swansea’s quiet churchyard to homes in Texas, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Prague, Burnley, and beyond. The graves tell of tragic accidents in the skies above Gower, of international squadrons training and fighting from nearby RAF Fairwood Common, and of men and women who, though far from home, found their final rest in Welsh soil.

To walk among these graves is to be reminded that the Second World War was not fought in distant fields alone. Its legacy was felt in this very community, in the rhythm of daily life interrupted by the roar of aircraft, the shock of sudden loss, and the solemnity of military funerals.

St. Hilary Church, Killay — Remembered means recognising both the scale of that global war and the deeply personal cost carried in each name. It is an act of honouring not only those who rest here but also the generations who have tended their graves, kept their stories alive, and ensured that, though far from the battlefields where they served, they are not forgotten.

Roll of Honour

Second Lieutenant Alistair Ewen Patrick Cameron — Alistair Ewen Patrick Cameron, Welsh Regiment, was the first serviceman buried at St. Hilary, died on 27^th June 1940.

Pilot Officer Glen Lewis Coats — Glen Lewis Coats, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 79 Squadron, from Colorado Springs, USA, died on 17^th September 1941, aged 22, after an accident. He was the first American airman buried at St. Hilary.

Pilot Officer Robert Early Willson Jr. — Robert Early Willson Jr., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 79 Squadron, from San Antonio, Texas, USA, died on 26^th September 1941, aged 22, when his Hurricane crashed in the Rhondda Valley. His headstone bears the words: “A Texas Pioneer.”

Sergeant Clive Alan Gillions Dale — Clive Alan Gillions Dale, Royal Air Force, 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron, from New Zealand, died on 25^th October 1941, aged 20, when his Defiant struck a barrage balloon cable near Skewen. He was the first New Zealander buried at St. Hilary.

Sergeant Gerald Anthony Willats — Gerald Anthony Willats, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 79 Squadron, from Basutoland (modern Lesotho), South Africa, died on 27^th October 1941, aged 23, following a Hurricane accident on the Gower. His headstone bears the inscription: “In proud memory of our only child who gave his all for God and England.”

Flight Lieutenant Rudolf Roháček — Rudolf Roháček, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron, from Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, died on 27^th April 1942, aged 27, when his Spitfire crashed near Bath after oxygen failure.

Pilot Officer Josef Janeba — Josef Janeba, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron, from Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia, died on 2^nd May 1942, aged 27, when his Spitfire collided during take-off at RAF Fairwood.

Pilot Officer Philip Gruchy — Philip Gruchy, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron, from Bishop’s Falls, Newfoundland, died on 17^th June 1942, aged 21, when his Beaufighter crashed during a training flight.

Pilot Officer Harold Edgar Dawe — Harold Edgar Dawe, Royal Canadian Air Force, attached to RAF Coastal Command, 172 Squadron, from Cupids, Newfoundland, died on 19^th August 1942 when Wellington HX482 was brought down over Swansea Bay. His body was later recovered.

Pilot Officer Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon — Edwin Thomas Arthur Deacon, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 172 Squadron, born in India and later of Reading, died on 19^th August 1942 as a crew member of Wellington HX482. His body was found at Oxwich beach on 29 August 1942.

Sergeant Ross Pringle Fahrni — Ross Pringle Fahrni, Royal Canadian Air Force, 172 Squadron, from Manitoba, Canada, died on 19^th August 1942 as part of the Wellington HX482 crew. His body washed ashore at Swansea in late August 1942.

Pilot Officer Donald Munro Iverach — Donald Munro Iverach, Royal Canadian Air Force, 421 Squadron, from Manitoba, Canada, died on 23^rd August 1942, aged 29, when his Spitfire crashed on Cefn Bryn Common during training. He was the squadron’s first casualty.

Sergeant Norman Hugh MacKay — Norman Hugh MacKay, Royal Canadian Air Force, 421 Squadron, from Saratoga Springs, New York, USA, died on 29^th September 1942, aged 25, when his Spitfire struck a hillside near Maesteg in fog.

Private Joseph Edgar Knott Walker — Joseph Edgar Knott Walker, Royal Army Medical Corps, from South Africa, died on 18^th December 1942, aged 42, after being struck by a train on the Mumbles Railway.

Sergeant James Gladstone Crummey — James Gladstone Crummey, Royal Air Force, 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron, from Bay-de-Verde, Newfoundland, died on 11^th January 1943, aged 29, when his Beaufighter crashed in Clyne Valley with his observer.

Major William Napier — William Napier, Royal Artillery, born in Swansea in 1893, died on 1^st April 1943 at Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff, aged 50. A career soldier, he had served in both world wars.

Flight Sergeant Donald Douglas MacLean — Donald Douglas MacLean, Royal Canadian Air Force, 116 Squadron, from Nova Scotia, Canada, died on 14^th May 1943, aged 21, when his Oxford aircraft crashed at Turner’s Farm, Swansea.

Leading Aircraftman Joseph Michael Kelly — Joseph Michael Kelly, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, from Burnley, Lancashire, died on 21^st June 1943, aged 51, following a cycling accident at Bishopston. A veteran of the First World War, he had served with the South Lancashire Regiment.

Flight Lieutenant Alfred William James Norkett — Alfred William James Norkett, Royal Air Force, Coastal Command Development Unit, born in Hampshire in 1912, died on 29^th October 1943, aged 31, at Pembroke.

Warrant Officer William Williams — William Williams, Royal Air Force, from Blaengarw, Glamorgan, died on 13^th October 1944, aged 26, following a motor accident at Mumbles.

Bombardier George Ernest Raymond Jones — George Ernest Raymond Jones, Royal Artillery, from Swansea, died on 17^th February 1945, aged 33, at Swansea General and Eye Hospital. He was the last soldier buried at St. Hilary.

Corporal Leonard Cecil Arthur Jones — Leonard Cecil Arthur Jones, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 11 Armament Practice Camp, from Bognor, Sussex, died on 17^th March 1945, aged 30, while stationed at RAF Fairwood.

Flight Sergeant George Benjamin Whalley — George Benjamin Whalley, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 186 Squadron, from Bristol, died on 14^th April 1945, aged 20, when his Lancaster was lost in a mid-air collision over RAF Stradishall.

Leading Aircraftwoman Amy Leigh — Amy Leigh, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, from Burnley, Lancashire, died on 15^th October 1945, aged 21, of natural causes while staying at Parkmill, Gower. She was the only woman buried at St. Hilary.

Pilot Officer James Stuart Abbott — James Stuart Abbott, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 595 Squadron, from Lewisham, London, died on 21^st March 1946, aged 24, when his Spitfire crashed at Bishopston. He was the last serviceman buried at St. Hilary.

Observer Kurt Brand — Kurt Brand, Luftwaffe, crew of a Dornier Do 217 shot down off Port Eynon during Swansea’s last air raid on 16^th February 1943. His body washed ashore at Rhossili in April 1943 and was buried at St. Hilary on 28^th April. In 1963, his remains were exhumed and reburied at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery, Staffordshire.

Reflection

Walking through the quiet churchyard of St. Hilary, Killay, the rows of headstones tell a story far greater than the boundaries of the parish. Here lie young men from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Newfoundland, Canada, the United States, and Czechoslovakia, alongside one young woman of the WAAF and even, for a time, a German airman. Their presence transforms this small corner of Swansea into a place of international memory, where the cost of war is written into the lives of families across the world.

Many of those buried here were barely out of their teens or early twenties, their lives cut short in training flights, accidents, or combat operations. Others, like Major William Napier and Leading Aircraftman Joseph Kelly, were older men who had already given long years of service before war claimed them. Each stone, with its simple inscription, speaks of love, loss, and remembrance.

The connection between St. Hilary and RAF Fairwood Common, only a short distance away, is central to its story. Most of those buried here served from that station, which became a hub of wartime activity for British, Commonwealth, American, and Czechoslovak squadrons. The men and women who flew from Fairwood often found their final resting place at St. Hilary, bringing the front lines of the air war directly into this Swansea churchyard.

St. Hilary is not just a burial ground—it is a reminder of sacrifice across generations, of the global reach of the Second World War, and of the enduring need to remember. In this peaceful churchyard, the war feels both distant and very near: distant in time, yet near in the stories of courage and tragedy that rest beneath its soil.