The Lancaster of the Coates crew, 97 Squadron, was shot down at Weebosch, near Luyksgestel, Holland, at 12.30 in the morning of 25 March 1944. All seven crew members died. This crew had flown on BLACK THURSDAY, 16/17 December 1943, in Lancaster JA908-OF-N. The aircraft had been badly damaged during the Berlin […]
This morning we are publishing a set of three photographs of the lighting of the candles for all the war graves in Den Berg, Texel, on Christmas Eve. They were sent to us by Jan Nieuwenhuis, who together with Bram van Dijk (very sadly, no longer with us) began this […]
NEWS FLASH: Today, 16 December, there was supposed to be a dedication ceremony at RAF Wyton for the new memorial to Black Thursday, but unfortunately it had to be cancelled on the authority of the Station Commander. A different date will be arranged in the New Year. Every year at […]
There is really excellent news about the long anticipated Black Thursday memorial. This memorial stone was most generously provided by Benoît Howson, who designed it in conjunction with Dr Jennie Mack Gray. It is a very great honour that this memorial will be sited permanently in the Memorial Garden at […]
Leo Janssen writes: Boxmeer is located in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands, in the upper south-east of the country. Our group researching airplane crashes and emergency landings in the Second World War in the region around Boxmeer began some 10 years ago. Before that time many individual researchers were […]
A very fine monument to the Rickinson crew was recently unveiled at Eemnes, a small village in the centre of the Netherlands. The Rickinson crew of 83 Squadron, stationed at RAF Wyton, were lost on the Duisburg operation of 12/13 May 1943. The crew were: Pilot: F/Lt Leslie Arthur Rickinson, […]
Today is the anniversary of the famous Operation Chastise, the raid on the German dams by Guy Gibson’s 617 Squadron, which took place on the night of 16/17 May 1943. To mark the anniversary, we are publishing an article by Clive Smith, 106 Squadron Researcher: FROM GIBSON’S 106 SQUADRON TO […]
The close involvement of the Pathfinders in the radar war waged by the Allies is symbolised by the service of two USAAF airmen – 2nd Lieutenant J.E. Russell (Jack) and 2nd Lieutenant R. Wright (Dick) – with 97 Squadron in the summer of 1943. The Americans were at the squadron […]
The memorial stone to the Steven crew, lost on 14 January 1944 on Texel, the largest of the Dutch Frisian islands, stands in a wooded place called Fonteinsnol on the exact spot where the aircraft crashed. Three of the crew were found dead at the scene. It is thought that one of […]
Today sees the publication of a new article which contains a fascinating conjunction of two accounts, one from the British viewpoint, one from the German viewpoint, of the shooting down of a Mosquito of 109 Squadron on 14 January 1944, eighty years ago. Mosquitos were difficult aircraft to shoot down, […]
This 97 Squadron crew flew on 16/17 December 1943 (BLACK THURSDAY) in Lancaster OF-S, S-Sugar. Unable to land due to the fog, the crew abandoned the aircraft and parachuted to safety. The crew’s survival on that disastrous night was a piece of great good fortune. Sadly, they were all killed […]
Every year on Christmas Eve, a most touching ceremony takes place on Texel, at the War Cemetery at Den Burg. This year the annual lighting of the candles for each of the 167 graves took place despite somewhat blustery weather, and the results after darkness had fallen were spectacular. Sea […]
Christmas items for the Pathfinders … Firstly, CHRISTMAS 1944 IN A POW CAMP To keep their spirits up, many prisoners created elaborate skit menus of their ideal Xmas meal. Secondly, Christmas 1944 at RAF Graveley, where the menu was of a rather more formal nature. With our very best wishes […]
Lawrence Nicholson was on the COLOGNE OPERATION OF 23 DECEMBER 1944, and we are delighted to be able to publish his hitherto unpublished experiences of that operation. See: LAWRENCE NICHOLSON, 23 DECEMBER 1944 ‘Nick’ was flying with the Lawson crew that night. The crew would go on to complete 57 […]
On 16 December 1944, German Panzers spearheaded a surprise attack in the Ardennes that smashed through thinly held Allied lines, catching the Allied commanders completely off-guard. Men from 1st SS Panzer Division in a Schwimmwagen at Kaiserbaracke crossroads, between St. Vith and Malmedy, 18 December 1944 © IWM EA 47958 […]