Relation with Lake (class): Lake area casualties are buried here: 5. 
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): approx. 80 WW2, today 74.
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): 0
Unknown today: 9
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 0
of which unknown from North Sea (NS-U): 9
Initial burial site in WW2: yes. 
Post war burial site for collection and reburial from other sites: yes 
Cemetery with Lake casualties today: yes, but from Lake area. 


                   
HOOK OF HOLLAND (HOEK VAN HOLLAND)


The first WW2 burial here involved 10 British army soldiers killed May 1940 during the German invasion of Holland. Most other of the 69 Commonwealth victims washed ashore here during the war, most airmen. 9 of them are not identified. In the smaller row next to the Cross of Sacrifice is a row with postwar burials, brought over from other locations. Among them 2 airmen crashed near Tiel and a Polish crew from Opperdoes, near lake IJsselmeer (see the other red dot on the map in the right-upper corner).   

   

Dutch name cemetery: Hoek van Holland Alg. begr. pl. 
Full name: Hook of Holland general cemetery. 
Address (usable for car navigation):
Kerkhofweg 6, Hoek van Holland.

For reaction or comments; send us an email,
see address and info at CONTACT.
Please use as subject title: 'Hook of Holland'.











Photo below: Burials started here. Under the first 5 headstones on this row (row 'F') are 3 graves which contain the remains of 10 soldiers of the Irish and Welsh Guards. They came with a British Royal Navy Destroyer to Hook of Holland to help evacuate the Dutch royal family and gold from Dutch banks to England. In German air raids on the harbour they were killed by exploding bombs 12/13th May 1940. In the following grave, with a headstone for each men, rest 2 RAF airmen that crashed in a Blenheim nearby also on 12 May 1940.  

Two weeks later the Dunkirk evacuation took place (26 May 1940) and 6 to 9 weeks thereafter, the Dutch beaches from south to the most northern tip of the Netherlands were flooded with the corpses of hundreds Allied soldiers and sailors. The 8th stone on this row is of such (unknown) British soldier that washed ashore here in this period.

We estimate that 4 French soldiers washed ashore here as well end July 1940. They were buried next to the British soldier, but were exhumed in 1949. This caused the empty gap between the headstones, visible on this photo. Next burials were RAF and started from September 1941 onwards when strategic bombing on Germany intensified. 
 

 








































































The French Dunkirk victims

One of the 4 French soldiers buried here was Sgt. Paul Nougière. He was exhumed in 1949 and reburied on the central French war cemetery in the Netherlands in Kapelle, grave C.3.6. The other 3 were repatriated to France. 

1km north from here, in the village of S'Gravenzande, also at least 2 French soldiers were buried after Dunkirk. They were not identified and rest now in Kapelle in grave C.3.8 and F.2.5. Possibly from here also another 2 French soldiers were reburied in France. 

In the village Monster, 2km north, also 2 French soldiers were reburied to Kapelle in grave C.3.10 and C..3.11. 





Royal Marines of H.M. Landing Craft Flak 37

Marine E.W. Mountford's name is on the Plymouth memorial. He is buried here. Next to him are 2 other Royal Marines, also washed ashore on this beach but not identified. They can be from the same ship. Full story is on this site: www.wigard.nl/WO2/Infatuate/LCF37.


























































Photo below: Row 2 (row 'G'). Postwar (re-)burials.











































































POLISH CREW ON ROW G

There is a relation Hook of Holland with the airwar over lake IJsselmeer. In the night of 24 on 25 July 1941 Wellington X9620 of Polish 304 Sqn crashed at Opperdoes, near Andijk. Only 2km from the lake shore. F/O Rzepa was directly recovered by the Germans and buried in Bergen aan Zee. The other 5 men were recovered after the war and received a collective grave here in Hoek van Holland. For more info and photo's read the site article on site Polish War Graves on this cemetery and on Wellington X9620. 






































































PHOTO'S GERMAN MILITARY FUNERAL ENGLISH AIRMEN 13 FEBRUARY 1942


There is a German photo serie (11 pictures) of a military funeral at Hook of Holland. Three English airmen are buried, possibly killed in operation Fuller. To see these pictures in a preview go to this commercial site: http://www.beeldbankwo2.nl/zoek.jsp

Enter only the photo-code (one number at the time) in the field at 'Beeldnummer:' (Image number). Then press button 'Zoek' (Search)

Photo-codes are: 69981,  69982,  69983,  69984,  69985, 69986,  69987,  69988,  69989,  69990,  69991. 





© ZZairwar






S'Gravenzande Cemetery

In s'Gravenzande is a WW1 war graves plot for 112 Royal Navy sailors, washed ashore. Of them, 97 are non-identified. They are casualties of 'the disaster of the three battlecruisers'. 

In WW2, three casualties were added:

- Sgt. George Beardwood of Blenheim L8828 (40 Sqn). Shot down here off the coast 10 May 1940 after a raid on Ypenburg airfield.

- Lance Corporal George Stewart. British Army. Killed in German air attack on s'Gravenzande 14 May 1940.

- Unknown RAF Flying Officer. Washed ashore, buried 12 August 1943.








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