THE NEPHEWS of a Carlisle-born World War Two hero buried in Holland have thanked the Dutch couple that are now taking care of his grave.
Pilot Officer Robert Goulding was killed at the age of just 21 on July 6, 1941 after his aircraft was shot down over Coevorden, Holland, whilst fighting against the repressive Nazi regime.
P/O Goulding is buried alongside three of his '10 squadron' crewmates in the Hardenberg General Cemetery, with his grave now being cared for and maintained by local couple Rita and Herman Harmsen.
Brothers Robert Neil and Martyn Nicholas Thomson are the nephews of P/O Goulding and after initially hearing about their Uncle's sacrifice through their mother, Robert's sister, Annie May Bateman, have kept his legacy alive.
Robert said: "I guess it goes back years because the family lost him in 1941 and ever since then the three remaining sisters, one being our mother have always in the family passed down this information that Robert was shot down over Holland.
"During the lockdown, I actually did more work to find out about his history.
"It starts with your mum telling you about the story and then as you get older you realise how important it is."
Martyn added: "It unearths quite a bit of information when you dig deep, there is a lot of information there and you think wow, pass it on, because it all gets lost in the years if you do not."
Robert and Martyn also maintain the legacy of their Uncle by making regular trips to Caldbeck to visit a family grave in a graveyard that is twinned with the Dutch village of Lutten, near where their Uncle valiantly sacrificed his life in order to stop his crashing airplane from landing on civilian areas.
In 1987, Robert and his family were heading on holiday to Hungary, however, Robert insisted on making a stop in Holland to see his uncle's grave and now is filled with gratitude to Rita and Herman Harmsen who have taken this family grave into their care.
Robert said: "It's fantastic, what they and the Dutch people do to maintain the graves.
"We are very keen to thank them for their work and to keep the memory going."
Martyn added: "When the couple that are tending the grave in Holland, when they look at that they see a stone plaque, they have taken it on themselves to find the story behind the Granite.
"It's a huge comfort to the family.
"We lost our uncle but we have the thoughts of the Dutch people and Cumbrian people and you cannot ask for more."
Rita and Herman kicked off their search for P/O Goulding's family earlier this month and with the help of local historian Sarah Lee have now been able to make contact with Robert's relatives and put a face and story to the grave they are caring for.
Speaking after the discovery of Robert's family, Rita and Herman shared their elation.
Rita said: "We are very glad we found them, to give the grave a face is good enough for us.
"I hope that when we are not there anymore that one of our children will take care of it."
"We want to let them know that we take care of those graves, and next week, May 4 is a day of memories for all those that were lost in World War Two," Herman added.
"There relatives gave their life for our freedom."
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