Relation with Lake (class): No. Is other Cemetery in Area (OCA)  
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): 198 end WW2, today 167. 
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): 0
Unknown today: 44. End WW2: 46.
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 0
of which unknown from North Sea (NS-U): 44 (46).
Initial burial site in WW2.
Post war burial site for collection and reburial from other sites: no 
Cemetery with Lake casualties today: no.


               
TEXEL ISLAND (DEN BURG) CEMETERY

Texel is the first in the string of Frisian islands. Den Burg is its main and central community. The war graves plot on the general cemetery is surrounded by water and is an island on its own. A number of aircraft crashed on Texel, but most of the Allied buried here washed ashore on Texel's beaches. Today rest 167 Commonwealth servicemen on Texel, 44 of them are not identified: 32 airmen, 1 merchant navy sailor and 11 soldiers. There were more war graves after the war: 19 American airmen and 11 French soldiers were exhumed and moved to other locations 1945-1949. See for more info on them further below. Remarkable is that there are no Polish airmen in this cemetery.

      

Dutch name cemetery: Den Burg Alg. Begr. Pl.  
Full name: Texel Island Den Burg General Cemetery
Address (usable for car navigation):
Kogerstraat 57-61, Den Burg.  

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









Photo below shows the war graves plot on Texel Den Burg cemetery (named 'Plot K'). The empty left hand side of the front row (row 8) is were 10 American graves were. Also in next row (row 7) are 2 empty American positions visible. Opposite to the cross of sacrifice is the middle one of 9 headstones missing. Here lay Italian soldier Constantino Pascolini, also exhumed. Address in Italy was Via Battisti, 38. Imperia, Prov. Onelia. He was killed on Texel island April 23, 1945.






















































The first 20 war graves on Texel: 9 British and 11 French

Burial started in the back (row 1) on December 5, 1939 with RAF P/O G.B. Michell, row 1, grave 3. Grave 1 was occupied by a Dutchman. Personnel of the cemetery skipped one grave position each time (most the even grave numbers), because they needed ground to stand on both sides when they lowered a coffin. After the first 6 English casualties, 14 most Dunkirk victims washed ashore between July 25 and September 26, 1940. Three of them are English, 11 French. See list of names below.











































  





































Photo below: Row 1 (back row) today.

In 1940-1942 the first 3 rows were filled, left to right, most uneven positions only. Then personnel of the cemetery stopped on row 3 and turned back, working back towards row 1 again, right of left, to fill the even positions. Below photo shows 5 of the in 1949 exhumed French graves, now empty. Also 2 American airmen lay here, also exhumed. This left Australian Sgt. Norman G. Smith alone on the right hand side of row 1, grave 23 (Wellington X9667, 21 OTU, 26/27 Jan. 1943). The 2 Americans Sgt. Walter L. Bliven and his crewmate S/Sgt. Andrew H. Burnett (both 91 BG) washed ashore and were buried 4 and 5 March 1943, Sgt. Smith on the 8th.
   






















































     
The year 1940 casualties on row 1:  

 





























.































The French were exhumed in 1949 and reburied in France or in the central French war cemetery in the Netherlands in Kapelle. Photos were made there. 
































.





















































 




The American casualties on Texel island









Photo below shows the empty spaces on row 6 and 7. On row 6, grave 140 lay S/Sgt. Donald D. Pippit. On row 7 (nearest to the camera) in grave 167 was buried an non-identified American airman. Sgt. Pippit was buried under his name and there were no unclarities on his identity. He was exhumed in the first war dead recovery round on 7 December 1945 and brought to Margraten: US war cemetery "Netherlands". Today he rests there on Plot H, row 4, grave 3. The unknown American in grave 167 was exhumed and brought 'to Strasbourg' on the 19th of November 1946. Most likely Strasbourg leads to St. Avold in France: US war cemetery "Lorraine". 


    






































































Map with the positions of the exhumed American airmen on Texel island

Green capital letters are empty grave positions today. US = USAAF,  IT = Italian soldier Constantino Pascolini, F = French soldier (1940 French coast Dunkirk evacuation victims),  - = never used position. Black capital letters UK are the 1940 English casualties. All other positions are Commonwealth military, most airmen.  























































.


 

















































(*): 03 June 1943, grave 58. "J.D. Burten 4037299". No doubt this was S/Sgt. James D. Burton, Jr. Today his status is MIA on the ABMC-site.  






The Commonwealth casualties on Texel island.

For more information on the Commonwealth casualties on Texel island visit the CWGC database. At Cemetery or Memorial type ' Texel ' and click SEARCH.  



The non-identified on Texel

Today there are 44 washed ashore Commmonwealth "Known to God" military in Den Burg cemetery: 32 airmen, 1 merchant navy sailor and 11 soldiers. For their headstone information and other details (when available) view our database "Buried as unknown" in the Search Menu.





Sources;

- Original burial register Texel, researched by ZZairwar.
- LOMT Airwar Museum on Texel
- Full story on S/Sgt. Donald D. Pippit: www.b24.net/missions/MM122043.htm
- Site CWGC
- Site ABMC
- Site on Texel airwar and more info and photos; www.626-squadron.co.uk/willem25.htm












  © ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War)