Halifax loss 03-04-1943

75 years ago, today…

A newsitem that has the details of last Tuesday, a nice impression on the service with some background on the crew and their families.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bKHJ63SNNo

A booklet on the aircraft, mission, crew, and recovery is also being published.

Thank you Eric and everyone involved, this has been an absolutely superlatively executed operation from the recovery to the memorial.

My most sincere and humble thanks to you all.

Thank you for posting,well done everyone involved R I P brave men.

The burial service at Wapenveld today was well attended, over 350 people including a major turnout from the armed forces both Dutch and British. An emotional farewell for those family members that had been able to make the trip to finally say goodbye to their loved ones, including a couple of very fragile elderly gentlemen who never thought they’d see the day that 73 years on their relatives would finally be formally identified and laid to rest. A short conversation I had with a former 158 Sq rear gunner who actually flew on the April 3rd, 1943 mission to Essen on a Lancaster with a different squadron (and went on to complete 50+ missions in Bomber Command) was humbling, to say the least.

Short video impression here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=66&v=3oVB9yuCcBI, including the fly-by of the Dutch B-25 that passed over the crash site then the cemetery as a tribute to the crew members of Halifax DT795. Headstones will be placed shortly, and I will post some pictures later.

Indeed, well done, so many still remain to be given the proper burial they deserve.
Cees

That is good news after such a long time!

It has been a while since I posted an update on the 2014 recovery of the Halifax and its crew members. The very good news recently announced by the BIDKL is that the missing four crew members have all been identified since, and that there will be a burial with full military honours on June 28th in Wapenveld.

http://www.vriezeserfgoed.nl/nieuws/19/expositie-met-wrakstukken-halifax.htm

This after 73 years will give all crew members a final resting place:

Sgt. Thomas Victor Trollope (tailgunner, age 22), W/O Frederick Henry Blake (pilot, age 26) and WO2 Rodeny Webber (gunner, age 21) had been identified in 1943 and are buried in Oud Leusden.

Sgt. Philip Henry Eldridge (wireless operator, age 29), Sgt. William David Hawkins (navigator, age 23), Sgt. John Ceredig Jones (bombaimer, age 31) and Sgt. Gerard Stanley Walters (engineer, age 22) had been declared missing in 1943. Unidentified remains found during recovery operations in 1943 have been buried in Wapenveld since 1943, but did not account for all four crew members. A further investigation and recovery effort shortly after the war did not produce any further remains. The 2014 full excavation did, and the BIDKL was able to identify all four remaining missing crew members. They will be laid to rest in Wapenveld. The existing memorial headstone to the unknown RAF crewmember(s) that was erected by local villagers will be retained and joined by four CWGC headstones.

In all, a great result.

The recovery is now officially closed, and landscaping nearly finished. Heavy equipment was moved to Werkendam, where yesterday the excavation of Lancaster LM508 started. This 101 Squadron aircraft went down on June 22nd, 1944 killing bomb aimer F/S T.H. Duff (parachuted out but died of injuries). Six other crewmembers escaped by parachute. Tailgunner Sgt. J.E. Keogh perished in the crash, and is remembered on the Runnymede memorial. It is hoped his remains will be found during the recovery at Werkendam.

Once again, thank you for the update and warmest heartfelt thanks to all involved in this undertaking, so well conducted, and hopefully the conclusion many of us were hoping for.

Thanks for these updates Eric.

You have to hand it to the forum: it’s a great place. Last Monday I had the pleasure of showing June Simpson around, who is the niece of tail gunner Thomas Trollope. We had been in contact through one of the webmasters because of this thread for some years now, and fortunately June was able to come over and visit the recovery-effort. She was shown around by Sqn/Ldr Arie Kappert who is directing the work, deputy mayor Herman van der Steege of Heerde council, and representatives of the foundation that owns the grounds in which the aircraft came down (Vrieze’s Erfgoed). Wolter Noordman, who has been researching the case for over 30 years, was able to answer a lot of questions, and seeing the remains of the aircraft was quite an emotional experience for all, knowing that these seven young men gave their lives for our freedom.

The link to the movie which was produced for the 250 school children who visited the site last Thursday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIXVedlK4cI

Updating information, the site is now being re-landscaped. For historical reasons the main impact site, the ‘dent’ in the dyke will be put back as a lasting memorial to the aircraft’s crew. Recently surfaced documents on a 1947 attempt by authorities to identify the unknown crew member buried at Wapenveld cemetery since 1943, seem to indicate that the grave is actually the last resting place of two crew members. These historical documents combined with the remains found last week should be a good starting point for an attempt at formally identifying the last four crew members who have been missing since 1943, although the process knows many uncertainties, and could take years. Fingers crossed.

Aircraftwise, a surprising amount of wreckage has come to light. A heap of partially molten aircraft structure, mostly from the mid fuselage and wings it would seem. Large chunks of wing main spar, a prop hub, oxygen canisters, lots of wiring looms, a main wheel tyre and the tail wheel. Various engine components including a generator and casing fragments, half an undercarriage leg in bits, and so on. An earlier recovery form the site was the pilot’s seat, which is displayed at the current exhibition on the crew and their last flight.

Today’s fantastic news from the site is that remains of two crew members have been found and recovered by the army identification unit. Of the crew of seven, only three crew members are officially accounted for, and are buried near Amersfoort. The other four are officially still missing in action, and remembered on the Runnymede memorial. However, a nameless Commonwealth war grave at the local cemetery at Wapenveld contains the remains of crew members that were recovered from the wreck in the weeks after the 1943 crash when the main wreckage was lifted from the canal.

Aircraft-wise, the recovered bits are very fragmented as this was a high-energy impact that saw a lot of larger sections removed by German forces in the weeks after the crash. Recognizable parts include a complete prop hub with the blades sheared off, oxygen canisters, a large section of wing spar, and an aerial. Also, small ammunition has been found.

Excavation will last another couple of days to finish the last areas to be searched.

Would be nice to meet someday. We seem to be interested in similar things.

I was there between 11 and 12 this morning. Interesting place!

Same here, must have bumped into each other then 😉

I was there between 11 and 12 this morning. Interesting place!

Just to clarify things, this recovery effort is not done by volunteers, but by experts under the direction of a specialised military unit who do this as a daily job. Volunteers however did put a lot of effort into researching the site, supporting the whole effort, and in the events that surround it (the exhibition, open house of Saturday next week, the visit of 250 school children next Thursday, etc.). I am just one of the many hundreds of people who follow the recovery, which is near my home.

Thursday saw the first bits of aircraft coming to the surface, as well as some small ammo. There is not expected to be any UXB’s as the aircraft was on the way back when it was shot down, but the recovery crew have taken all the usual precautions should one appear anyway. By Saturday the whole main impact crater including the whole dyke of the canal was dug out to about three metres of depth. Photo of the work as it stood today.

In made a photo report: http://www.wo2actueel.nl/article/3618/Excavation-Halifax-DT795.htm

Looking at the light and shading in the last picture you put in there (of the exhibition, compared to the one I took), we have missed each other by minutes today. Small world!