| Body on Embarkation |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force |
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| Last Unit Served |
| RoyalNew Zealand Air Force, 115 Squadron, RAF |
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| Cemetery Name |
| Hanover War Cemetery, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany |
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| Biographical Notes |
| John Christiansen was the son of Albert Christian and Elmina Saraphia Christiansen, of Palmerston North, New Zealand. |
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| Description of Image |
- Portrait from Weekly News; 5 April 1944
- Headstone, Hanover War Cemetery (photo Mr B. Cox, June 1999)
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| Additional Information |
- Mr B. Cox whose brother Flying Officer J.G. Cox is buried in the same cemetery. He described his visit to Hanover War Cemetery:
- 'On 29 June we left London 4 am - drove all day via the Channel Tunnel reaching the village of Rimbeck about 100 km south of Hanover by 5 pm. That was where my brother's plane actually crashed, and by 5.30 we were taken by friendly German folk to the Catholic cemetery where the crew of seven were originally interred, and then to a site on a hillside about 1 km away to the spot where the Lancaster crashed. An elderly chap who remembers the incident said that they thought the bomber was going to hit the village... and the following morning, civilians began pillaging the wreckage to get the parachutes for silk but were stopped by soldiers.
- We were taken back to the first house we called at where we were given a nice meal, outside under a patio, followed by several rounds of German lager, before being taken to the local hotel where we slept before an early morning start for Hanover.
- In the Hanover War Cemetery all graves are well tended by German gardeners employed by the British War Graves Commission and were quite friendly. There are 46 New Zealand graves in the cemetery.'
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| Further References |
| Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch: Volplane Press. |
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