One survivor after all

Only the seventh crewmember Julian George Seymour Walker survived the crash of the plane. After he was cut out of the wreckage, he was brought to the Diaconessen hospital at the Angelsloërdijk. According to writer G. Groenhuis, wounded aviators customarily were temporarily treated in the nearest hospital before they were transported to Germany. However, Walker stayed in Emmen for five months. Just short of two months, the German medical officer decided that he had recouperated sufficiently. Walker would be fetched by the Germans between October 11 and 14, but three months later he was still in Emmen. It had become January 23rd, 1944, when his attending physician, dr. S. van Heerde, heard that Walker would be taken away in the night of January 24th and 25th. As Van Heerde regarded the chosen vehicle not suitable to transport Walker, this could be prevented. A week later, on February 1st, 1944, the transport was still carried out. Meanwhile a lot had happened. A report, written by S. van Heerde and on November 10th, 1945, sent by F.Wibaut to Queen Wilhelmina, reveals that on December 14th, 1943 the hospital management had decided to declare the costs for the care of Walker with the German oppressor. According to Van Heerde,
management acted out of a certain grudge because Walker got engaged to a hospital nurse the day before. At the same time, management notified police superintendant Jansen about Walker’s residence in Emmen, who informed the German authorities.

Note: According to a report of the National Armed Forced (former Resistance) to the Chief Commissioner of the Military Authority in Drenthe, the matron of the Diaconessenhuis, Zr. E. Molenaar, was described as someone “with more or less German sympathies”. She was of German origine and kept a German accent all her life, but was later still distinguished as Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

G. Groenhuis claimed the case to be totally different. Naturally the resistance intended to let Walker disappear from the Diaconessenhuis but reprisals from the Germans to both board and staff were expected. The members of the Resistance Andries Kalter and Harm Dijkstra advised R. Zegering Hadders, boardmember of the hospital, to notify the Germans about Walker at a carefully chosen moment. Walker would be kidnapped by the Reisistance from the hospital while the Germans would not have time to react swiftly enough. A few things however went wrong, not the Resistance but the Germans took Walker. Writer G. Groenhuis specifically makes note of:

• the Germans to have received several letters at several moments.
• the hospital invoice to have been sent indeed.
• the police superintendant Jansen to have been informed.

As the Germans on January 23rd, 1944, had already been aware of Walker’s presence in the hospital but did not earlier than on February 1st 1944 get him out, the question remains why the Resistance did not kidnap him after all. The explanation that was given for this was that Walker may not have wanted it himself. As a result of his injuries he would not have been able anymore to play an active roll in the war. After the German surrender, Walker returned to England.

Found the last one

Donald Fells was found as the sixth casualty of the crash only on August 26th, 1943, at 10 o’clock in the morning. He laid stuck underneath some pieces of wreckage on a patch of land at the Oranjedorpstraat 56 in Nieuw Dordrecht. He laid in a hole approximately 1,5 meters deep and was totally mutilated. Fells was dressed in a brown leather suit with a brown coverall underneath, on which right upper arm three triangles were sown. The dogtag gave the name Fells-D 1390228. The excavation and transport of Fells to the Nieuw Dordrecht cemetery took place under supervision of the non-commissioned office of “the German air arm and personnel”. In the late afternoon of August 27th, 1943, on expense of the municipality of Emmen he was buried on the aforementioned cemetery. The burial took place in the presence of the deputy mayor and the secretary of the municipality of Emmen.

On this operation the RAF lost another three Lancasters (van 61, 103 en 106 sqn.) and two Halifaxes (van 102 en 434 sqn.).

Police report August 24th, 1943

On August 24th, 1943 J.J.Scheepmaker, 2nd Lieutenant-Section Leader of the Marechaussee (military police) in Klazienaveen drew up a report of what he personally witnessed in Nieuw Dordrecht. “In the night of August 23rd and 24th 1900 fourtythree at approx. 23.30 hours, I, Johannes Jacobus Scheepmaker, etc etc, have seen and heard: that presumably two aircraft were involved in aerial combat over the town of Nieuw Dordrecht in the municipality of Emmen, given that I heard two aircraft flying and at the above mentioned time saw two burning objects falling out of the sky.” “I together with the staff of the Marechaussee group Klazienaveen instantly rushed to the place where I assumed the meant aircraft to have fallen down.” “Upon arrival at the location I saw that various parts of aircraft were scattered over a distance of several kilometres and some parts were burning heavily.” “I also noticed a bomb to have fallen and exploded in front of one of the houses at the Heerenstreek in Nieuw Dordrecht. Not yet exploded incendiary bombs (so-called phosfor bombs) were scattered all over the area.” “This bomb strike caused the death of three persons, while a further three people were severely, two people less critically and twenty-five to thirty people lightly wounded.” “Three members of the crew of an English aircraft were found, they were dead. One member of the crew was stuck in a part of the fuselage and was arrested after his rescue by Sergeant Major S.v.d.Hoek, belonging to mentioned group.” “I instructed my subordinates to guard the wreckages of the aircraft. On August 24th, 1943, at approx. 9.00 hours, this was taken over by staff of the German Wehrmacht.” “Reported by me, 2nd Lieutenant – Section Leader in twofold, by oath taken at the commencement of my duty, to be inspected and signed by the honorable Mayor of the Municipality of Emmen and sent to the Chief of the National Inspection Air Defence in The Hague.” Signed August 24th, 1943, J.J.Scheepmaker. The report furthermore mentioned the caused damage:

• Nine homes totally destructed.
• Five homes severely damaged.
• Fourty-six homes lightly damaged.
• Twenty-nine homes contracted glass damage.
• A wooden school building was totally destroyed.
• A school building heavily damaged.
• The Dutch Reformed church heavily damaged.
• The adjacent community building heavily damaged.

A barn standing behind a house at the Heerenstreek in which wheat and hay were stored, is burnt to the ground.
Note: Eye-witnesses of the disaster declared that before the striking of the plane they observed a midair explosion. The Lancaster would therefore not have been crashed but exploded. This may explain why the debris was so wide spread, as Scheepmaker told in his report.

Entry from the original RAF War diary on that date

23/24 August 1943 727 aircraft – 335 Lancasters, 251 Halifaxes, 124 Stirlings, 17 Mosquitos – despatched to Berlin. The Mosquitos were used to mark various points on the route to Berlin in order to help keep the Main Force on the correct track. A Master Bomber was used; he was Wing Commander JE Fauquier, the Commanding Officer of 405 (Canadian) Squadron. The raid was only partially successful. The Pathfinders were not able to identify the centre of Berlin by H2S and marked an area in the southern outskirts of the city. The Main Force arrived late and many aircraft cut a corner and approached from the south-west instead of using the planned south-south-east approach; this resulted in more bombs falling in open country than would otherwise have been the case. The German defences – both flak and night fighters – were extremely fierce. 56 aircraft – 23 Halifaxes, 17 Lancasters, 16 Stirlings – were lost, 7.9 per cent of the heavy bomber force. This was Bomber Command’s greatest loss of aircraft in one night so far in the war. 40 Wellingtons minelaying in the Frisians and off Lorient and St Nazaire, 22 OTU sorties. No losses.

Cew:

• George W. Osmer
• Cyril P. Backlog
• Donald Fells
• William M.E. Reid
• John W. Standish
• Thomas E.C.K. McKeith
• Julian G.S. Walker

Civilian casualties:

• Jan de Vries
• Annigje de Vries-Jalving
• Willem de Vries

Location

Sources

• Website www.historisch-emmen.nl
• “Toen stilte nog te horen was” door B.J.Mensingh. Uitgeverij Drenthe te Beilen. ISBN 90-75115-22-9.
• “Emmen in bezettingstijd” door Dr. G.Groenhuis. Uitgave 1990, drukkerij Van Liere. ISBN 90-9003420-X.
• G.A. Emmen, proces verbaal van het neerstorten, nr. 501.
• “De Tijd” van 14 oktober 1966.
• Website: www.epibreren.com (Engelstalig).
• Website: www.strijdbewijs.nl
• Drents Archief Assen.
• Van Diaconessenhuis tot Scheperziekenhuis 1938-2008, door M.van de Poll, P.Rinsma en K.de Weerdt.
• Mevrouw G.van Voorst.
• Proces verbaal nr.501 door J.J.Scheepmaker, Onderluitenant-Groepscommandant Marechaussee te Klazienaveen. Collectie Brands.
• Proces verbaal nr.448 door F.J.van der Weerd, Opperwachtmeester Marechaussee te Emmen. Collectie Brands.
• Proces verbaal nr.826 (25-08-1943) door J.J.Scheepmaker, Onderluitenant-Groepscommandant Marechaussee te Klazienaveen. Collectie Brands.
• Proces verbaal nr.826 (27-08-1943) door J.J.Scheepmaker, Onderluitenant-Groepscommandant Marechaussee te Klazienaveen. Collectie Brands.
• Proces verbaal nr.685 door R.Nieuwland, Groepscommandant Marechaussee te Klazienaveen. Collectie Brands.