The ‘Short Stirling Monument’ in Doornspijk (municipality of Elburg) was erected in memory of the crew of a British Wellington bomber who crashed on May 13, 1943.
The ‘Short Stirling Monument’ in Doornspijk (municipality of Elburg) was erected in memory of the crew of a British Wellington bomber who crashed on May 13, 1943.
The names of the fallen Allied soldiers are:
Radio operator RHD Cook (30), gunner R. Hughes (20), Pilot L. Waldorf (20), gunner T. Wharmby (21) and bomber JG Wilson.
The British Vickers Wellington HE-702 returned from a successful bombing flight over Duisburg on the night of May 12 to 13, 1943. The bomber was shot down above Doornspijk by a German Messerschmidt. Mr Holstege was an eyewitness to the crash: ‘It was right above our house. I heard a small machine gun blast and the plane was immediately on fire. The engines roared terribly as the plane went down.’ Only the next day was he, together with D. Lieuwerink, able to set out to see what exactly had happened. ‘I rode there on an old bicycle. A large German truck rear-ended me and I ducked onto the side of the road. It was only on Sunday morning that Russian prisoners of war removed the deceased crew from the plane.’
Source: 4en5mei.nl
Address and contact
Veldweg
Doornspijk
