![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/4QXOGDADPVCQRSP32CSEJ7ITNI.jpg?smart=true&auth=c48f508f0b63fa63e64f58af2e5169ec6618c13c2c3f258f2f9c782d72dd6890&width=400&height=225)
The memorial to Billy Donnelly in Dhadnah, Fujairah. Amy Leang / The National
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Sharjah Paramount, an open-air cinema at an RAF station in the emirate. Imperial War Museums
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZKQ65J6J6BH4DNXUJMYXORURSI.jpg?smart=true&auth=74fa75a341a29f2a10fff8bd1ff2cb89e34873bc00d87c9138e4fb0d4be22add&width=400&height=225)
Billy Donnelly RAF portrait. Donnelly died in an aircrash in 1943 after taking off from Sharjah. Courtesy: Lesley Botten
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/24KMWVNWBR2PZ6OAXCFJG2Y4PI.jpg?smart=true&auth=ef8b33a883a1a74803ca545fdf28e528ba574e51a3b1fa74174dec72168c4a66&width=400&height=225)
The grave of Billy Donnelly. The location of this site has been lost and his body never recovered. Courtesy: Lesley Botten
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6O7GEO5X4PMKINQ4MG3UBAJD4U.jpg?smart=true&auth=4e101e32b622e5aef1111316a9183479c24090fb907a0ac232cb154bdb936167&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Alsereidi, an eyewitness to the Billy Donnelly crash, who was just a boy when the plane came down. 'We found a local imam who tried to advise on how best to bury him,' he said. Pawan Singh / The National
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Sharjah airbase in the 1960s. Courtesy: Taff John
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The old Sharjah airport tower which is now Al Mahatta Museum. Paulo Vecina / The National
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Wreckage found at a Second World War-era air crash site in Sharjah. The 1943 crash killed three people and the remnants are being studied at the Al Mahatta Museum. Navin Khianey / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/4QXOGDADPVCQRSP32CSEJ7ITNI.jpg?smart=true&auth=c48f508f0b63fa63e64f58af2e5169ec6618c13c2c3f258f2f9c782d72dd6890&width=400&height=225)
The memorial to Billy Donnelly in Dhadnah, Fujairah. Amy Leang / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/L7ABMBIHNQ7C3M76YIDNTH52LQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=df3731c5043fd86b03ff8846d57fdb7e77d36f72718916156b0941637ff8d4f0&width=400&height=225)
Sharjah Paramount, an open-air cinema at an RAF station in the emirate. Imperial War Museums
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZKQ65J6J6BH4DNXUJMYXORURSI.jpg?smart=true&auth=74fa75a341a29f2a10fff8bd1ff2cb89e34873bc00d87c9138e4fb0d4be22add&width=400&height=225)
Billy Donnelly RAF portrait. Donnelly died in an aircrash in 1943 after taking off from Sharjah. Courtesy: Lesley Botten
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/24KMWVNWBR2PZ6OAXCFJG2Y4PI.jpg?smart=true&auth=ef8b33a883a1a74803ca545fdf28e528ba574e51a3b1fa74174dec72168c4a66&width=400&height=225)
The grave of Billy Donnelly. The location of this site has been lost and his body never recovered. Courtesy: Lesley Botten
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6O7GEO5X4PMKINQ4MG3UBAJD4U.jpg?smart=true&auth=4e101e32b622e5aef1111316a9183479c24090fb907a0ac232cb154bdb936167&width=400&height=225)
Mohamed Alsereidi, an eyewitness to the Billy Donnelly crash, who was just a boy when the plane came down. 'We found a local imam who tried to advise on how best to bury him,' he said. Pawan Singh / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/V6N42TYQ6YM5KJCACPAEH5BAAM.jpg?smart=true&auth=7ea554311a431d1ecf427d8072b110e08162afecd67a99e844d96beaf72337cd&width=400&height=225)
Sharjah airbase in the 1960s. Courtesy: Taff John
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ONOGE4AQPS2Z27XBFZC4BSEPM4.jpg?smart=true&auth=ce0863541ab878f5f261579845b3facc4f84a138add12f8944a3d37187026578&width=400&height=225)
The old Sharjah airport tower which is now Al Mahatta Museum. Paulo Vecina / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/BCH4U4QN4D35F25YTMEESQPIIA.jpg?smart=true&auth=e66cef0eded46ff15efde5f689974f2321964d2a6303cf35bada2748c5eecb0b&width=400&height=225)
Wreckage found at a Second World War-era air crash site in Sharjah. The 1943 crash killed three people and the remnants are being studied at the Al Mahatta Museum. Navin Khianey / The National
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/4QXOGDADPVCQRSP32CSEJ7ITNI.jpg?smart=true&auth=c48f508f0b63fa63e64f58af2e5169ec6618c13c2c3f258f2f9c782d72dd6890&width=400&height=225)
The memorial to Billy Donnelly in Dhadnah, Fujairah. Amy Leang / The National
How Sharjah played its part in winning the Second World War
Seventy-five years after hostilities were brought to a close, we put the spotlight on the role the emirate’s airbase played in the Allied war effort
![John Dennehy](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2F6672bef4-f371-4546-90ba-13ad5ded9082.png?smart=true&auth=f1d711e1371a4276112f01656e091484625201f90342530a0b42086db97abdf2&width=70&height=70)
John Dennehy
02 September, 2020
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