A small town in County Fermanagh is the final resting place for 82 young airmen.

They lie in neat rows of Commonwealth war graves in the Roman Catholic churchyard and the Church of Ireland cemetery in Irvinestown.

This is the largest group of Second World War Air Force graves in Northern Ireland.

More than half of those who died are buried thousands of kilometers from their homes in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

But how did they get there?

It recalls the role played by the region in the Battle of the Atlantic between 1941 and 1945.

Lough Erne was a base for RAF Coastal Command flying boats protecting Allied maritime convoys in the Atlantic.

A secret agreement with the Republic of Ireland allowed planes to fly over Irish airspace.

They took a route known as the Donegal Corridor, a shortcut that connected Lough Erne to the Atlantic Ocean and widened the plane’s range.

To mark the centenary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, young Army and Air Cadets from Enniskillen and Omagh placed a small Canadian flag and a poppy cross on each of the 38 Canadian graves.

The teenagers are only a few years younger than the pilots, navigators, air gunners and wireless operators whose names and ages are inscribed on the headstones.

Oliver Irwin, Air Cadet from Omagh, said: “When you see a deceased Canadian here you ask yourself ‘what happened?’ ”, you want to know its story.

Jacob Woods, an army cadet from Enniskillen, did not know that so many airmen who served in Northern Ireland came from Canada.

“As a young person, I think it is important to remember all those young people who served their country, died and made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.

Valeriya Baderdinova, an air cadet from Ukraine, was also surprised to find so many Canadian graves here.

“It’s really important to remember all those who died for us and served their own country,” she said.

Air Cadet Torin Aleksanderek from Poland was attending a memorial service for the first time.

He said: “I think it’s really important that the new generation learns about these things, the tragedies, the brave men who were lost. »

In reality, the 82 graves represent only a fraction of the total number of men lost on the bases.

Several crews simply failed to return, while others are believed to still be below the surface of the lake.

The wreckage of a plane, probably a Catalina, was discovered in 2018 and is protected as a war grave.

Canada’s honorary consul to Northern Ireland, Ken Brundle, also laid a wreath at the ceremony in Irvinestown.

“The Canadian government relies heavily on the local population to carry out acts of commemoration, but also to care for war graves,” Mr. Brundle said.

One of the pilots buried in the Church of Ireland cemetery at St. Tighernach is Terence Ramsay Hailstone.

Aged just 20, he was killed when his plane crashed into a nearby bog at Knocknagore in February 1945.

Years later, Pat Keenan of Irvinestown discovered her bracelet at the crash site.

He sent photos of his discovery to Canadian newspapers, and a Vancouver Sun reporter knew the pilot’s sister.

“One morning I got a phone call from this lady and she was so excited,” Mr. Keenan recalled.

“She used to send me ten Canadian dollars to come here and lay flowers on the grave, and I still do that.

“These are young men who came from a foreign land and died for our freedom.

“Irvinestown being the town that it is, it’s just an integral part of Irvinestown.”