Almost 70 years ago, as the Second World War was nearing its end, a handful of Australian airmen remained in Italy.
Two of those airmen lost their lives in a tragic mission, but they're still remembered in a small village in the north of Italy.
Details of their story faded away, until brought back to life by a curious town mayor and his detective work.
On mission
Italy, 1944: after the demise of Benito Mussolini, the country was split in two.
The Allies held the south, while the centre and the north were under German control.
Italian partisans in the north were facing German troops and needed supplies and weapons from the Allies in the South.
On October 12, 20 planes of the 31st and 34th Squadron of the South African Air Force, under the command of the Royal Air Force, took off from their base in Celone in the south of Italy.
Their mission was to drop supplies to Italian partisans in the north.
As historian Luigi Bruti Liberati explains, the airfields in the south of Italy played a crucial role towards the end of the conflict, with hundreds of missions launched from their runways.
"In the beginning of 1944 there were 24 airfields operating from the area around Foggia, and it was a strategic point since from that area they could bomb almost all Europe occupied by the Germans and also drop ammunition and material to partisans all across Europe," Liberati told SBS.
The Japanese threat had prompted Australia to recall most of its army and other military units, abandoning the European and African fronts.
Only a handful of Australian airmen remained in Italy.
"This meant that in 1943/1945 in Italy there were only a few air wings of the Royal Australian Air Force," Liberati said. "And it probably was just a few dozens of airmen, Australian airmen employed during this last part of the Italian campaign."
Flight Sergeant Clarence William Lawton was one of these airmen.
He was the pilot of a B24 Liberator, code KH 239; one of the 20 Liberators that left the Celone airfield in Puglia on the afternoon of October12th,1944.%20%20and%20Anne%20Storm%20-%20SBS-1.JPG?imwidth=1280)
"He was born in July 1921. He was born in a small place called Gunning which is in NSW in Australia and shortly after that they moved to Murrumburrah-Harden which is another smallish place," said Kathy Hind, Clarence Lawton's niece. "The family was 5 girls. He was the youngest boy and the only boy."
Kathy Hind's mother Vera, at 96, is Clarence Lawton's only living sibling.
"There were five girls so the eldest was Nell then there was Flo, Rita, my mother Vera and Val and then Clarence."
Kathy Hind has been to Italy to pay tribute to her uncle's life.
A life that ended in another country, after only 23 years.
"He was a teacher. After he finished school he studied for I think 2 years and then became a teacher and he moved even further out into NSW in a very small place and was teaching there before he went to the war."
A family mystery
Clarence Lawton was flying one of B24s headed for a drop off point near Vigone in Piedmont.
He never made it back, his plane being one of five that crashed into the Italian Alps as the weather turned unexpectedly bad.
"There was a telegram that arrived at the time that he was missing. My mother actually worked in the post office at that time during the war and the letter actually came to that post office, her superior actually received the telegram and went and got her older sister and together they were given the news, and the telegram just says that he was missing in northern Italy."
The full details of that mission remained fragmented for several decades, including what had actually happened to the plane of Kathy Hind's uncle.
"I knew really just that he had been a pilot and had crashed in the war."
"Growing up, there was a photo of him on the wall and I knew really just that he had been a pilot and had crashed in the war, but about 12 years ago my mother was contacted by Anne Storm who had been doing some research or had come into knowledge of some research of what had actually happened at the time and she sent us a lot of information then about how they had been helping drop supplies to partisans in Italy and they knew the actual site of where he had actually crashed."
Anne Storm was just one year old when her father's B24 Liberator disappeared in the same mission, with an assigned drop-off point in the region of Liguria.
She has made contact with relatives of 47 other airmen who also died that night - men from England, Scotland, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
"In 2001 my mother saw an article in the Sydney Morning Herald asking for relatives of airmen in 31 squadron South African Air Force to contact the writer which I did. She lived in Queensland and she had a father who was killed on this particular mission.
"And so that's how I started this interest in finding relatives of the crew so I found all the relatives of the crew but it took a while. Some in South Africa and two in Britain, and then I started to look for relatives of other crews, and then I went to other commemorations, not necessarily all connected to 31 South."
Thomas Roberts Millar, known to family and friends as Bob, was born in Narramine NSW, on the 7th of September 1916.
"He married my mother in 1942 and he enlisted in May 1942 but he went to England in March 1943, three weeks after I was born so he did, he saw me as a baby, but of course, I don't remember him."
Bob Millar graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Economics in 1939.
Four years later he would find himself on a plane in the middle of the European conflict.
"My father was a very intelligent, academic man. He was dux of his school, he was very good at maths and he discussed with my mother whether he would train to be a pilot or a navigator and they thought being a navigator might be safer but I don't think so. They're all on the plane together."
'His plane disappeared. It's never been found'
70 years after the mission on which her father died, Anne Storm is still trying to find out what happened to his plane.
"His plane disappeared. It's never been found. After the war my grandfather tried to find out more information but he could find out very little about what had happened to the plane."
Shortly before his final flight, Bob Millar had written a letter to his daughter, hoping to return home soon.
"The letter is the only thing I have of his that was specifically for me."
He wrote the letter for my first birthday from Italy just as a hello from your father, and he was looking forward to coming home. And that is all I have from him. That is all I have."
The crash of Clarence Lawton's plane on Mount Freidour was thunderous: explosions from the plane lit up the skyline, while a thousand metres below, startled local villagers gazed up at the flames, wandering what had just happened.
The following day, the wreckage of the B24 Liberator and its crew were discovered by locals: the eight bodies found on the scene were buried together in a single grave.
Flight Sergeant Clarence William Lawton was one of them.
Fifteen months later, the bodies were exhumed and re-interred at the British War Cemetery in Milan, almost 200 kilometres away.
Plane crash investigations
The memory of the crash faded over the following decades, until only vague recollections remained alive in the nearby Italian villages.
Giustino Bello is the mayor of Cantalupa, the town that sits at the foot of Mount Freidour.
He was always curious about the remnants of the B24 that were still scattered near the impact spot.
In 1993 he decided to investigate the full story.
But there was a significant challenge to overcome: nearly 50 years after the crash, nobody could remember precise details of what had happened.
He received further disappointing news in a letter from the Air Historical Branch of the British Ministry of Defence.
"Without the precise date of the crash or without having a single name, it was impossible for him to retrieve the details of who was on the plane."
The mayor's solution was perfectly tailored for a little Italian town: his request for information was published in the local newspaper.
A fortuitous Italian discovery
The problem was resolved in an extraordinary manner: a man from a nearby village came forward after reading the article, revealing the exact date of the crash.
He could also incredibly recall the exact hour.
"Along came a man and he tells me: "There are no doubts about it, the plane crashed on October 13th 1944, at 8:30 pm." And when I asked "How can you, who look so young, be able to remember such precise details?" at which point he explained that at the exact moment the plane exploded, he was coming into this world."
Armed with this information, the mayor obtained the details he needed from the British Ministry of Defence: the mystery airplane was a B24 Liberator, code KH239, and had been piloted by Flight Sergeant Clarence William Lawton.
Further investigation at the crash site uncovered the identification tags of another crew member, Sergeant Lockton of England, confirming the identity of the plane beyond any doubt.
After the fortuitous discovery of these details, the town of Cantalupa decided to create a tribute in honour of the fallen: a monument made with the remains of the plane.
The mayor commissioned local artist Michele Privileggi to design a monument in honour of Clarence Lawton and his crew.
He created a wing shaped sculpture which was placed on top of Mount Freidour, 500 metres away from the impact spot.
"We had this idea while collecting parts of the fuselage that were still on the mountain. We picked them up and these bits are now placed inside the base of the monument."
Michele Privileggi's monument is called "Wings like sails".
"When I was asked to make a memorial stone, something to remember the event, a feeling instantly came to me:
"I wanted the airplane and its the crew to have their wings back, so they could fly home to their families."
Commemorating the sacrifice of WWII Australian airmen
The little Piedmont town of Cantalupa has since been holding commemorative services every year, to remember the sacrifice of those men who died on Mount Freidour in 1944.
In 2013, 69 years after the fateful mission, Clarence Lawton's niece Kathy Hind and Bob Millar's daughter Anne Storm joined the people of Cantalupa for the traditional memorial service.
With the whole valley filled with fog, their thoughts went to the weather conditions that led to the crashes.
"It must have been very frightening to be in a little plane and not knowing that there are mountains around you, it must have been very scary for all the people on board."
"To know where the mountains were must have been very difficult with this mist."
It was an emotional service, reflecting mutual respect between nations, going beyond the complexities of war and acknowledging the human side.
Thousands of kilometres away, a tiny Italian town raised the Australian and British flags, in honour of the sacrifice these airmen made.
An unexpected scene in a country that was an enemy before it became ally.
Old and young were present to remember the legacy of the young men who sacrificed their lives for the cause of their country.
A cause, says Anne Storm, which so many Australians also believed in.
"I think he thought it was his duty because it was to support England and Britain, which was regarded as sort of home. Britain was very much in the centre of everyone's mind, especially in wartime. So this is why he felt it was his duty to volunteer."
A religious service followed the ceremony.
The church was packed with people, including the families of the two Australian airmen.
For Kathy Hind, the ceremony brought closure to her family.
"It's quite amazing that so many people would care that much after almost 70 years and overwhelming that they show such respect for the allied at that time yes it was very overwhelming."
'Perhaps I'll find it and perhaps not'
Anne Storm's quest is not finished yet, even if she has long acknowledged that she may never find her father's plane.
"I think I've had long enough to accept it and perhaps I'll find it and perhaps not. It's my mother who is wanting to know very much where my father is, but I like to go to the ceremonies, just in case there is somebody there who maybe knew where my father's plane crashed, maybe."
A final surprise was in store for Kathy Hind, brought by two local men who 15 years earlier also researched the full details of the B24's disappearance.
Even today, small bits of the B24 can be found on Mount Freidour.
"This morning, Beppe and Sandro, two of the local people went up to the crash site. They took up a wreath of poppies and they brought me back some of the debris that they found on the ground from the plane, which is very special for myself and my family. It just looks like some twisted metal and broken glass but it will have very special memories for us to keep."
Seventy years on, Anne Storm has never had the chance to gaze upon the remains of her father's plane or mourn at his grave, but she still has the will to keep looking for an answer.
"I've written to villages and mayors of towns and diving companies and recreation diving companies in Italy and Liguria where the drop zone, where the plane was KH158, that's where the drop zone was, in the thought that if it's in the sea, somebody might find it, but I haven't had many replies but at least hopefully, they've still got my name and address."
What is left for her, is the heartfelt letter her father sent all those years ago for her first birthday.
"My Dear Daughter,
This is the first time I have written to you and although you are as yet too young to read it perhaps mother will save it up until the time comes when you can read it yourself. In 2 days time it will be your first birthday anniversary-a great event for your parents. My regret is that I cannot personally be there to help you blow out your single candle but believe me lassie I will be there in spirit…That's all young lady. Have a happy birthday - may they all be happy birthdays. I hope to be home again one fine day. In the meantime, lots of love to you & to mother
From Dad,
Bob Millar."
