page_title: William McMullen (RCAF officer)
section_title: Tributes
hierarchical_section_title: William McMullen (RCAF officer) / Post Accident Reaction / Tributes
caption_attribution_description: English: The memorial to Pilot Officer William Stuart McMullen on McMullen Road in Darlington, County Durham, UK.
context_page_description: William Stuart McMullen was a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who died in an aeroplane crash at Darlington in the north east of England during the Second World War.
context_section_description: In the wake of the accident the Darlington Gallant Airman Fund was established and raised £1,000 for McMullen's widow Thelma (whom he married in 1937) and their daughter Donna Mae. However, Thelma returned the money saying that with Britain having sustained such war damage it should be put to use there. So the town sent Thelma an ornate silver rose bowl with the remainder of the funds used on two children's cots for Darlington Memorial Hospital. McMullen's sister Mae attended a presentation ceremony as the cots were given to the hospital in 1945.
  In further tribute, Lingfield Lane near the crash site was renamed McMullen Road in his honour with a memorial stone also placed. However, in later years the stone was consumed by undergrowth and the cots with their memorial plaques lost in a hospital reorganisation. By the time of the 50th Anniversary in 1995 a new stone was put in place and a ceremony held.
  The Mayor of Darlington Jimmy Blumer wrote to Thelma McMullen in 1945 - 
  For sheer self-sacrificing heroism, your husband's action will be remembered and honoured by the people of Darlington for years to come... Our sorrow is mixed with great pride in the knowledge that our mighty Empire produces men like William Stuart McMullen.
caption: The memorial to Pilot Officer McMullen on McMullen Road in Darlington.
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