Relation with Lake (class): Lake Casualty Cemetery (LCC)  
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC) end WW2: at least 5. Today: 2.
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): at least 5
Unknown today: 0
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 0
of which unknown from North Sea (NS-U): 0
Initial burial site in WW2: yes, Lake Cemetery East side of Lake (LCE)
Post war burial site for collection and reburial from other sites: no
Cemetery with Lake casualties today: yes (LCE).


            
ELBURG GENERAL CEMETERY

Elburg is a small village on the Eastern shore of the old Zuyder Sea (Lake IJsselmeer). It has a beautiful 16th century citadel and a harbour. Today there are 2 airwar graves in Elburg. These airmen washed ashore here mid 1944. In the 5 years of WW2 more airmen were recovered from the coast here, but buried in larger cities as for example Amersfoort, Harderwijk and Amsterdam. In 1944 it became to dangerous to transport bodies of Allied airmen to cities because of Allied fighters strafing (German) traffic. Burials were then done in Elburg itself, but also due south and north of Elburg, in the nearby coastal hamlets Doornspijk and Oosterwolde.

   

Dutch name cemetery: Elburg Alg. Begraafplaats. 
Full name: Elburg General Cemetery.
Address (usable for car navigation):
Burchtstraat 4, Elburg.

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









Drowned American airmen that were interred in Elburg need further research, but at least 3 American airmen were buried here. Elburg was liberated on 19 April 1945, only 3 weeks before the end of the war. An English missing enquiry unit and an American Quarter Master grave registration company were in this area between May 1945 and October 1947. Three Americans of which we know the name (see below) were exhumed 12 February 1946 and taken to Margraten (US Netherlands War Cemetery). The empty spaces on this war graves plot, suggest that in the 2nd recovery round, airmen buried here nameless proved to be American and brought to the US identification centre in Neuville-en-Condroz (Ardennes American war cemetery). If they could not be identified in Neuville, they were reburied there as 'Known but to God'.













































   








Photo below shows the graves of the 2 airmen today and the empty graves around (counter clockwise): 

Old grave nr.    -  New grave number
Row A, grave 1 - Plot C, grave 872
Row A, grave 2 - Plot C, grave 873
Row A, grave 3 - Plot C, grave 874
Row A, grave 4 - Plot C, grave 875. Plt. (Plutonowy = Corporal) Mieczyslaw G. Szeliga. Lancaster LL807, 300 (Polish) Sqn. Pilot Rozanski. Crashed in lake 12/13 June 1944.
Row A, grave 5 - Plot C, grave 876. Pilot Officer W.K.M. Love (from USA). Royal Canadian Air Force. Lancaster DS794, 426 Sqn. Pilot Pattle (MIA). In lake 15/16 Feb. 1944.
Row ?, grave 6 - Plot C, grave 909
Row ?, grave 7 - Plot C, grave 908
Row ?, grave 8 - Plot C, grave 907. 2Lt. Athan Anagnos. USAAF. B-17  42-37719, 381BG, crew Nason, crashed in the lake 11 January 1944, washed ashore July 1944.
Row ?, grave 9 - Plot C, grave 906. S/Sgt. Arthur P. Schmidt. USAAF. B-17  42-102565, 398BG, crew Rolfe, crashed in lake 26 Nov. 1944, found in water April 1945.
Row ?, grave 10-Plot C, grave 905. In use, civilian grave (on photo; backside of grey headstone). 2Lt. Vernon D. Anderson. Crew Rolfe, found in water 29 June 1945.






































































    

Below:
American P/O William K.M. Love from Connecticut volunteered in the Canadian Airforce early in the war (1941), before the US were at war. Because he was not USAAF, his body was not moved from here to the central American war cemetery 'Netherlands' in Margraten or 'Ardennes' in Neupré (Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium). There are more American volunteers like him buried around the lake. See for more info on this page www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/americansrcaf.html
 











































Photo below: Traditional Dutch fishing boats as used before 1960 in the Elburg harbour today. Right: Plt. (Corporal) Szeliga posing in front of a Wellington bomber probably 1943 on an English airbase. The Polish squadrons were flying Wellingtons before conversing to Lancaster bombers. On this photo his rank is Corporal. We believe by the time he was killed in the lake (12/13 June 1944, Lancaster LL807) he was a Sergeant, however on his gravestone is engraved PLT. (= Plutonowy = Corporal).




















































Sources:

- site Polish war graves.nl
- site CWGC
- MACR





© ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War)