Invitation to the unveiling two remembrance posts on June 17, 2023

On June 17, we unveil remembrance posts for the crew of two English bombers who crashed on the mudflats some 80 years ago. Fourteen crew members were killed. The airmen came from England, Canada and Australia and are buried in the Zandburen cemetery.

The first remembrance post we will unveil on June 17 is for the crew of the Lancaster W4256. The Lancaster crashed on 26 June 1943 at 02:31 behind the sea dike, approximately at the height of Recreatiepark Wiringherlant.

The second remembrance post is for the crew of the Halifax JD149. The crash of this aircraft took place on 28 May 1943 north of the Normerdijk.

Everyone is welcome to the commemoration of these 14 heroes and the unveiling of the two remembrance posts.

The program for this day:

2:00 PM:

Reception at NUBO motor museum, Molenveld 9, 1777 HN Hippolytushoef.

You can park at the front of Molenveld 7, next to the T-junction with the Molenakker

2:30 PM:

Opening, welcome and speeches

2:45 PM:

Depart for the location of the remembrance post for the W4256

Noordstroeërweg 5, 1775 NG Hippolytushoef (Recreatiepark Wiringherlant)

There is limited parking space available, parking is also possible along the side of the Noordstroeërweg

3:00 PM:

Unveiling ceremony of the W4256 crew remembrance post

3:15 PM:

Depart for the location of the remembrance post for the JD149

At the T-junction Noordburenweg and Noordburendwarsweg

The location is next to the house at Noordburenweg number 6, 1777 NB Hippolytushoef

Parking is only possible along the Noordburenweg, in the direction of Zandburen

3:30 PM:

Unveiling ceremony of the Halifax JD149 crew remembrance post

3:45 PM:

Departure for the Zandburen cemetery, where the crew members are buried.

4:00 PM:

Last Post, closing words and closing.

Noordburenweg 15, 1777 NB Hippolytushoef

Great interest in unveilings in Nieuwe Niedorp

On May 4, 2023, more than 200 visitors witnessed the official unveiling of the 18th remembrance post of Stichting Herdenkingspalen Hollands Kroon. A special unveiling because in addition to the remembrance post, the monument was also unveiled that Rutger Jan Bredewold made for the Municipality of Hollands Kroon. A beautiful monument about which Rutger Jan himself explained details about the design and its creation. The unveiling of the monument was done by Mrs. Katerina Sequensová, ambassador for the Czech Republic in the Netherlands, and Mr. Juraj Machac, Ambassador for Slovakia in the Netherlands.

The remembrance post and the monument are in memory of the crew of the RAF bomber that crashed in June 1941 at the Kanaalweg in Nieuwe Niedorp. In the various speeches, the crew members of the Vickers Wellington T2990 were remembered as heroes who made the greatest sacrifice for our freedom. Pilot Vilém Bufka was the only survivor of the crash. The other five crew members were officially missing until recently. After the excavation of the aircraft in 2021, it was confirmed in January 2022 that the other five crew members had been found. In June 2022, these five heroes were buried in Bergen op Zoom. Mayor Rian van Dam, who also unveiled the memorial pole, emphasized the importance of continuing to commemorate. She said that we realize how valuable our free world is. In several speeches, such as those of the Czech and Slovak ambassadors, attention was paid to the situation in Ukraine, one of Slovakia's neighbours.

In between the speeches and stories, the fanfare from 't Veld provided appropriate musical intermezzos. Another musical interpretation came from Dirk Bak, the trumpet player who is present at all the unveilings of the Stichting Herdenkingspalen Hollands Kroon and passionately performed The Last Post and the national anthems of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The veterans led by Dick Doornik were also well represented as always. Many wreaths and flowers were laid at both the monument and the remembrance post. The Freedom Flame tulips from the foundation of the same name had already been placed, ready for the flowering period.

After the official and ceremonial activities, those present were treated to a "fly-past", the flying over of an original World War II Lancaster bomber. The roaring engines, the low altitude at which the aircraft flew over, the extra lap flown to give the audience a double pleasure, all this made for an impressive conclusion to this memorable day. Afterwards, part of the group went to “De Vriendschap” where they talked and had drinks afterwards.

The organization of this day was in the hands of Chris Dijkshoorn of our foundation, Ingrid Sijtzel and Nanneke Barends of the Municipality of Hollands Kroon. Thanks to their efforts, everyone looked back on a beautiful, impressive and very successful day. Our thanks also go to Matthijs Gemmink and Jan de Vries of the Municipality of Hollands Kroon and Sieb Rienstra and Joke Koomen of the 4 May committee Niedorp.

Click here for all the photos from this day

Click here for all information about the Vickers Wellington T2990

Crosses at graves of Dutch airmen in England

For several years we have been in contact with the English organization Free Czechoslovak Air Force Associates (FCAFA). This organization commemorates the approximately 2500 Czechoslovaks who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Two bombers of which the crew came from Czechoslovakia also crashed in Hollands Kroon. Remembrance posts have now been placed and unveiled for both aircraft. There is a lot of contact with this organization about this. Thanks to this organisation, we had the opportunity to be present at the salvage facility in Nieuwe Niedorp.

Recently we received the photo with the crosses sent by Tom Dolezal, Board member of the FCAFA. Tom reported that he was going to place these crosses, with our website on them, at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Brookwood and Hawkinge. 12 Dutch people are buried in both cemeteries. These men served with the Dutch squadrons that flew under the Royal Air Force. Of the twelve men, only one was killed by enemy fire. Eleven were killed in an accident, eight of which were killed when two Dutch aircraft collided. These were unknown stories to us, but through the gesture of FCAFA these stories have become more widely known and we believe that these men should not be forgotten.

Unveiling of the remembrance post for the crew of the Avro Lancaster ND357 on April 25, 2023

On Tuesday evening, April 25, 2023, the unveiling of the remembrance post in memory of the crew of the Avro Lancaster Mk III ND357 GT-G of 156 “Pathfinder” Squadron took place. It was an impressive moment for Jim and Patty Nichol from Canada, relatives of Edward Sudbury Alexander, one of the Lancaster's crew members.

Mien Struik-Bakker, a 92-year-old resident of the region, was also present to make the unveiling together with Patty. Colonel Marc LaFortune, Defense Attaché to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, was also present on behalf of the Canadian Embassy.

The 4 May Committee, historical society and foundation Oud Kolhorn were also present at the ceremony. The program started at 7:00 PM and the ceremony ended at 7:45 PM. Afterwards there was the possibility to drink coffee or tea thanks to the much appreciated hospitality of Ton and Petra.

It was an impressive and respectful ceremony in memory of the highly experienced crew of the ND357, who gave their lives for our freedom. During the ceremony, deputy mayor Maarten Versluis of the Municipality of Hollands Kroon gave a beautiful speech. He emphasized how important and not self-evident freedom is and that we must therefore continue to remember. He reflected on the current situation in Ukraine.

Colonel Marc LaFortune of the Canadian embassy was also impressed by the ceremony and the way in which commemoration takes place in the Netherlands. He indicated that they do not do this in this way in Canada and that he was deeply impressed by the way in which the Netherlands reflects on the sacrifices made for the freedom of our country.

The remembrance post was officially unveiled by Patty Nichol and Mien Struik-Bakker. Dirk Bak played The Last Post and the national anthems of New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. The presence of the veterans led by Dick Doornik made the official character of this commemoration complete and impressive.

Edith van de Bovenkamp provided the memorial pole with a container of Freedom Flame tulips. The intention is that these tulips will be placed at all remembrance posts of our foundation in the coming weeks.

Click here for more photos of this unveiling

Memorial to pilot Donald Ewart Larkman and his crew on April 19

On April 19, 2023, Stichting Herdenkingspalen Hollands Kroon had the honor of receiving relatives of one of the crew members of the Vickers Wellington Mk Ic P9286 KO-K of 115 Squadron that crashed near Winkel in the Groetpolder. The crew is buried in the General Cemetery at the Lucaskerk van Winkel.

Christine Townrow, her partner Arthur Brookes and his brother Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Brookes had come over from England. Christine's father was the cousin of pilot Donald Ewart Larkman. According to Christine, it was her father's favorite cousin because he was always so nice to him. Christine, Arthur and Edmund had come over by boat this morning to return to Cambridge the next day.

Christine and her travel group were not aware of the memorial service that would be held and were pleasantly surprised that Chris from our foundation had organized it. After the ceremony, Chris took them to the remembrance post and the crash site. This has done her very good. Christine later wrote via email: “I will certainly remember the day with such pleasure and gratitude!”. You can't get a better compliment as a foundation.

Mayor Rian van Dam was also present at the commemoration, who once again emphasized how important it is for Hollands Kroon to continue to commemorate these crew members.

Annual commemoration for Czech and Slovak crew Vickers Wellington

On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, it was 81 years ago that the - then Czechoslovakian - crew with their Vickers Wellington bomber Z8838 crashed at the Molenweg. All six crew members were killed. A remembrance post was placed and unveiled for this on October 9, 2021. Every year on April 11, these heroes are commemorated with a ceremony at this remembrance post.

The Historical Society Wieringermeer welcomed the guests in De Cultuurschuur in Wieringerwerf with coffee and tea. Chairman Jan Wouts welcomed all interested parties, especially the representatives of the Czech and Slovak embassies.

In addition to a welcome from the Society, there was also a word of welcome from our chairman, Mark Hakvoort. Mark indicated that it is nice to see the involvement of the embassies, of the ever-present veterans led by Dick Doornik, but also of our regular trumpeter Dirk Bak.

In nice words from Cenek Hajny and Jozef Kuslita, representatives of the Czech and Slovak embassies, the gratitude for the efforts of all involved made this commemoration possible. Both referred to the current war in Ukraine, which once again makes it clear how valuable and important our freedom is. This was also emphasized in a speech with beautiful words by deputy mayor and alderman Mark Versteeg of the Municipality of Hollands Kroon.

At the memorial pole on Molenweg, the official unveiling of which took place on October 9, 2021, wreaths and flowers were laid by Mark Versteeg, deputy mayor of the Municipality of Hollands Kroon, Mr. Cenek Hajny from the Czech Embassy, Mr. Jozef Kuslita and Mrs. Silvia Swan from the Slovak Embassy, the Veterans, the Wieringermeer Historical Society and Willy de Bruin.

Click here for all information, reports and photos about the crash of the Z8838

click here for all photos of the commemoration on April 11, 2023

Overview crashed planes and unveiling of our remembrance posts