The Airman’s Grave, Ashdown Forest: A touching and little-known memorial to victims of war and fate

A wartime tragedy in East Sussex's Ashdown Forest is among our Secret Britain picks, as chosen by Annunciata Elwes.

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The Airman's Grave. Ashdown Forest, East Sussex.
The Airman's Grave. Ashdown Forest, East Sussex.
(Image credit: Alamy)

In the early hours of July 31, 1941, a Wellington MK2 bomber crashed on a hillside in the Ashdown Forest. It was part of a 100-plane raid to Cologne in terrible weather and engine trouble forced the six young men in its crew to turn back; they were all killed.

Nobody is buried at Airman’s Grave, but a touching and little-known stone enclosure stands at the site of the crash. There are flowers planted within its walls, with a memorial plaque and the occasional offering from local children, all surrounded by grazing livestock.

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An uphill walk from here, through heathland alive with purple heather and yellow gorse in summer, affords views over the Low Weald.

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Annunciata Elwes
Annunciata Elwes

Annunciata is director of contemporary art gallery TIN MAN ART and an award-winning journalist specialising in art, culture and property. Previously, she was Country Life’s News & Property Editor. Before that, she worked at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, researched for a historical biographer and co-founded a literary, art and music festival in Oxfordshire. Lancashire-born, she lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and a mischievous pug.