The nephew of a New Zealand pilot who gave his life to prevent his damaged plane from crashing into a small village in German-occupied northern France during World War II says his uncle left a "fitting legacy".
James Stellin was one of several hundred New Zealanders who flew over Europe in the lead-up to and following the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944.
He undertook almost daily missions over northern France in his Hawker Typhoon fighter bomber, targeting German installations.
On August 19, 1944, after completing a successful strike on a German transport, Stellin requested permission to attack another target on his return to base.
He never rejoined his squadron; his final message was a request for a homing signal, with his fuel running dangerously low.
Stellin's nephew Sven told 1News he often thought about how "scary" the situation would have been for his uncle.
"Twenty-one years old and lost over enemy-controlled territory with your fuel running out."
Sven said he has always been intrigued by the possibility that if his uncle's actions had indeed destroyed a German transport, there could be German families remembering their lost loved ones on the very same day.
"It's a poignant reminder that wars affect whole families on all sides."
Stellin's bomber was believed to have been hit by flak near Bernay, and shortly after that, the villagers of Saint-Maclou-la-Brière witnessed his final moments.
In a letter written to Stellin's parents in 1946, French Resistance fighter C Jacobs recounted what happened next.
"The plane was about 1500 to 2000 feet up and rapidly losing height. Suddenly, on realising the great destruction his plane would cause if it were to crash in the centre of the village, the pilot straightened up his plane with a vigorous and supreme effort, made a half-climb, then turning left at an acute angle, it fell rapidly, crashing less than a mile away."
Jacobs said Stellin, knowing he could have survived by bailing out, instead chose to steer his plane away from the village.
His parachute failed to open and Stellin died instantly when he hit the ground.
Villagers wrapped the fallen airman in a clean white sheet, keeping a vigil through the night in the hall of the mayor's office. By morning, the entire village, along with many from the surrounding countryside, had come to pay their respects.
"Everyone brought armfuls of flowers picked lovingly in the gardens and left them with deep respect and infinite gratitude," Jacobs wrote.
"Since the first day of liberation, I have invited many soldiers … who pass through the village, to come and salute their comrade, whose grave is, and ever will be, in our constant care."
Jacobs urged Stellin's parents not to thank them for what had been done as they were only "fulfilling our duty".
"It is for us to express our gratitude for having brought into the world a son with so fine and virile a soul, and such stoic courage. For he saved us, and we shall bless him forever — him, his family and his beloved country."
France posthumously awarded Stellin the prized Croix de Guerre medal a year later in recognition of his selfless action.
In 1964, a memorial was erected to Stellin outside of the Saint-Maclou-la-Brière church, and in 2001, the area in front of the church was named "Place Stellin".
Villagers continue to remember him on the anniversary of his death.
He was recognised in New Zealand too, with a memorial board at his old school Scots College, as well as having the school's library named in his honour.
Stellin's father, a well-known Wellington property developer, gifted land on the eastern side of Tinakori Hill to the Wellington City Council to create the James Stellin Memorial Park.
Stellin's death had a profound effect on his family for generations — a legacy that Sven said he carries with him every day.
"I, Sven James Stellin, am alive because of that tragedy."
He also said when he dies, the Stellin family line will end with him, as he has no children.
"But the name Stellin will live on in the little French village of Saint-Maclou-la-Brière, held to the breast of those people who hold him as one of their own.
"What more fitting legacy could one ask for?"
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