After close to 80 years, work is being done to help identify the families of two Swift Current World War II service members.
The first of which is Sgt. David Levin, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, specifically the bomb aimer crewman of the Handley Page Halifax LL541 ZU-O. He and the eight other crew members aboard the bomber were killed when they crashed over Wales, near Rhayadar, on Dec. 12, 1944. One other crew member, flight engineer Sgt. Frank Willmek, was from Mondou, with family ties to Swift Current. The other crew members from Saskatchewan were rear gunner Sgt. Grant Goehring of Regina, and mid-gunner Sven Overland of Preeseville.
These crewmen are interred at the Blacon Commonwealth War Cemetery, in Chester, England.
Recently, Paul Sambrook, an archaeologist, recently helped discover the two local veterans' remains and helped orchestrate two ceremonies that honoured these service soldiers' sacrifice. The first was at Elan Valley Visitor Centre, in Elan Village, Rhayader, on Dec. 12, 2024. This is almost the exact location where the airplane began to break up before the crash. The second ceremony was at Rhayader parish church the same evening, attended by representatives of the local community and county RAF Cadets. The Canadian High Commission in the UK was represented by a Colonel from the RCAF at both services.
There was even a pair of surviving individuals who remembered the crash. The first was a 90-year-old who witnessed the crash, while the second was a 97-year-old local woman who was actually sent by her employer with farmhands to the mountain where the crash landed. They searched for survivors, of which there tragically was none.
Now, Sambrook has reached out to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 56 in Swift Current in the hopes of identifying any surviving family members or descendants of these individuals.
In an email correspondence with Legion Branch 56 public relations officer John Griffin, who is also a genealogist who specializes in Saskatchewan World War II history, Sambrook revealed that there is work being done to erect a permanent memorial to the crew of LL541. This would be erected at both the crash site and in the local community. The local RAF Cadets, 579 Squadron, are even planning to study the crew and visit their burial site.
Sambrooks main reason for contacting Griffin was to ask for aid in identifying any possible surviving family members of Willmek or Levine. It is his mission to pass on best wishes to the families, and to share the update on their fallen relatives.
He had already found some success as he had managed to contact the surviving sister of Goering and her daughter in Regina. He was elated to learn that Goering and Levine had actually managed to establish a strong friendship during their service, and their mothers remained in steady contact for many years after their passing. He also was able to speak with the family of Overland's family, which is now based in Edmonton. Lastly, he has also managed to contact the Vancouver-based family of navigator flying officer Ernie Brautigam.
Griffin, in the same email correspondence, applauded the work being accomplished by Sambrook. He encouraged him to make use of the public domain on the Library and Archives of Canada website. This resource was stated by Griffin to sometimes include lists of known relatives for service members. He even provided a direct link to Levine's listing in the 1931 Census of Canada. Lastly, Griffin also agreed to scour the local collection of records held in the Legion Branch 56 museum for anything on either crew member and to contact local media and both the MLA and MP to see if they could assist in getting the word out.
Using the Archives of Canada, Sambrook was able to ascertain that there are still community members in Swift Current and the area with the surname Levine. He applauded the quality of the Archives of Canada for their detailed and quality records, stating that they were of a higher quality than he would expect.
It also helped to confirm how old the members were. Samrbook noted how sobering it was to realize that the youth who composed the local RAF Squadron 579 were only two years younger than the young men who gave their lives aboard LL541, two of which were only 19-years-old.
Anyone who thinks they may have a relation to either Levine or Willmek is asked to please send an email to paulsambrook@btinternet.com, or to rclbranch56sc@gmail.com. Either Sambrook or Griffin will be happy to help confirm the relation.