Relation with Lake (class): Lake Casualty Cemetery (LCC)  
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): ? end WW2, today: 9. 
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): 2
Unknown today: 2
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 2
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).


              
NIJEMIRDUM

The church tower of Nijemirdum was build between year 1350 - 1400. The attached church cold not be restored and was broken down a century ago. On the cemetery nine airmen are buried. Seven are crew of two aircraft that crashed nearby this location. Two washed ashore.

   

Dutch name cemetery: Nijemirdum Alg. begr. pl. 
Full name: Gaasterland (Nijemirdum) General Cemetery.
Address (usable for car navigation):
Lyklamaweg 18, Nijemirdum.

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










Two of the nine airmen are not identified ("Known unto God"). They washed ashore here from the Old Zuyder Sea (Lake IJsselmeer). The dike is 1km behind this tower. 






















































Photo below: Four members of one crew are buried left of the path. Three crew of another aircraft are on the right hand side of the path. The outer two graves on each side are the unknown airmen. Burials started on the left of the path: four man of the crew of Whitley Z6948 (78 Sqn), killed night 7/8 November 1941. On the left (the 2nd burial here): an unknown RAF Sgt. airman from the Lake, buried 30 May 1942. On the right side of the path (this side on photo): three men of Wellington III, BJ762, 426 Sqn RCAF, killed in the night March 29/30, 1943 (2 POW). Headstone nearest to the camera is an unknown RAF airman from the Lake, no rank, no burial date on stone, buried as last man on this cemetery 5 February 1944.













































  

























Photo below: Plot 2 (right side of path), row A, grave 1 to 3. Killed night March 29/30 1943; three crew of Wellington BJ762 of 426 Sqn RCAF, Sgt. J.A. Bailey, Sgt. J.F. Gubb and F/Sgt. R.E. Todd (of USA on grave stone). Crashed on land not far from here. F/Sgt. Richard Earl Todd was from the United States, Colorado Springs. He volunteered early in the war in the Canadian Airforce. In grave 4 (most right) is the not identified RAF airman, no rank, no date, washed ashore. Burial date 5 Feb. 1944.   






















































Photo below: Left hand side of the path. Plot 1, row A. Nearest to the path is grave 1 with Sgt. Webb, then Cameron, Boucher and McCombe of Whitley Z6948 of 78 Sqn, crashed on land 8th November 1941, very near to this tower. Their pilot washed ashore to the south of here and is buried in Lemmer. In grave 5 (most left) rests "An Airman", a Sgt, RAF, no date. He washed ashore, buried 30 May 1942. We estimate his date of death between September 1941 and 27 May 1942.























































View from the cemetery towards the dike (behind the windmill, right hand side).























































Some people in Nijemirdum suggest that the unknown Sgt. buried 30 May 1942 is RAF Sgt. Thomas H. McGrenery. He is MIA crew of Hampden AE421 (49 Sqn), crashed in the lake off Enkhuizen in the night 10/11 April 1942 (raid on Essen). However, there is no evidence that supports this. In fact it is quite a long shot, because 19 not identified airmen washed ashore in this area between 12 April 1942 and 14 October 1942. These were buried as unknown airman in Nijemirdum, Makkum, Huisduinen (Den Helder), Amsterdam (via Urk), Amersfoort (via Bunschoten-Spakenburg), Bergen aan Zee, Scharl and Lemmer. Of those 19 men, six cannot be Sgt. McGrenery because they were Pilot Officer, RAAF, Polish and/or RCAF. This leaves 13 graves where Sgt. McGrenery can be buried as unknown RAF Sgt.

The pilot of Hampden AE421, RAF Pilot Officer Reginald P. Worthy, was recovered from the lake by fishingboat BU71 with skipper Jan Zijl from Bunschoten on May 22, 1942. This suggest a crash position 15km southeast of Enkhuizen. Jan Zijl held P/O Worthy's body outside the boat wrapped in a folded sail and delivered the body in his home port to the police. Designated cemetery for recovered Allied airmen in Bunschoten harbour was Amersfoort. P/O Worthy was buried there most left on row 1 (today named row 2) as first Allied airmen recovered from the lake buried in Amersfoort.







© ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War).