Relation with Lake (class): none.
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): 14 (Rockanje), 11 (Oostvoorne), 140 (Rotterdam).
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): 0
Unknown today: 5 (Rockanje) + 4 (Oostvoorne) + 5 (Rotterdam).
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 0
of which unknown from North Sea (NS-U): all.
Initial burial site in WW2: yes.
Post war burial site for collection and reburial from other sites: no.
Cemetery with Lake casualties today: no.
ROCKANJE , OOSTVOORNE & ROTTERDAM CEMETERIES
Rotterdam was in WW2 an inland port, not situated directly on the coast. Rotterdam harbour was only reachable via a canal (see map further below). Locations were Allied casualties washed ashore from the southern North Sea were at the begin of this canal at Rockanje, Oostvoorne and Hook of Holland. Rotterdam Crooswijk Cemetery however was also used as centralization cemetery for the surrounding area and has also five unknown airmen that washed ashore. On this page we combine the washing ashore location for Rotterdam with Rockanje, Oostvoorne, Brielle, Rozenburg and Zwartewaal. In our file on Hook of Holland the war graves at s'Gravenzande and in village Monster are combined. City The Hague has its own cemetery file page.
Rockanje General Cemetery Zeeweg (Mariarust). On southern entrance to Rotterdam Port. In the centre of the village on the 'Zeeweg' road is the old cemetery 'Maria Rust'. Closed for burials in 1950. Very well maintained, an isolated and almost forgotten war graves location. In nearby Hellevoetsluis (Smitsweg road) rest an unknown Canadian airman, no rank, buried 30 Dec. 1943.
Dutch name cemetery: Oude begr. pl. aan de Zeeweg 'Maria Lust'.
Full name: Rockanje (Zeeweg) General Cemetery.
Address (usable for car navigation):
Zeeweg 1, Rockanje.
For reaction or comments; send us an email,
see address and info at CONTACT.
Please use as subject title: 'Rockanje'.
Walking around and reading the war graves in Rockanje, is going through the whole WW2 history in the southern North Sea area. All washed ashore here: Dunkirk soldiers, Coastal Command Blenheim & Beaufighter flyers, an American Eagle squadron Hurricane fighter pilot and a RAF Spitfire pilot 1941, a Dieppe raid soldier 1942, an American bomber pilot volunteer in the Canadian airforce, never identified RAF airman and the empty, exhumed graves of French Dunkirk soldiers and USAAF bomber crew. All heroes. An impressive and historic location.
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Map 1945. Red encircled are the sea-cemeteries.
OOSTVOORNE CEMETERIES
Oostvoorne has two cemeteries with war graves. The Roman Catholic and the Protestant Cemetery.
The Oostvoorne Roman Catholic Cemetery is on the Kloosterweg road to Brielle. Here rests Royal Navy Seaman John Thomas Cook. On 8 June 1940 his armed trawler H.M.S. Cayton Wyke exploded by a German torpedo and sunk on the Goodwin Sands, a location which almost guarantees washing up on the Dutch coast. He was found at the beach at Oostvoorne. Two men of his crew are buried in Noordwijk and 15 are MIA. A number of them can be buried as unknown sailor in several Dutch locations, we report on this later.
Oostvoorne Protestant Cemetery.
Address: Voorweg 33a. Postal code 3233 SJ. Oostvoorne.
Grave 215, deep 2. Sgt. George Edwin Maydon, 18 Sqn, RAF. Blenheim crash sea at Oostvoorne, 4th July 1940.
Grave 215, deep 1. Empty today. Possibly 1949 exhumed French Dunkirk victim washed ashore end July 1940.
Grave 216, deep 2. Sgt. Henry R. Sunderland, 235 Sqn RAF. Blenheim crash at Oostvoorne, 12 May 1940.
Grave 216, deep 1. LAC Roy H. Tyler, 235 Sqn, as above.
Grave 217, deep 2. "A victim", washed ashore 23 August 1940.
Grave 217, deep 1. Empty today. Possibly 1949 exhumed French Dunkirk victim washed ashore end July 1940.
Grave 218, deep 2. Unknown Sailor Royal Navy. Washed ashore Buried 23 January 1941.
Grave 218, deep 1. Unknown Airman, RAF, no rank, no date on headstone. Probably washed ashore 1941.
Grave 219, deep 2. Unknown Sailor Royal Navy. Washed ashore, buried 10 August 1942.
Grave 219, deep 1. Pilot Officer Kenneth A. Higgs. 35 Sqn RAF. Halifax W7676, crashed in Westerschelde 29 Aug 1942. Washed ashore.
Grave 220, deep 2. Sgt. David R. Bell. 78 Sqn RAF. Halifax LW519. Parachuted out, drowned. Buried 9 June 1944.
Grave 220, deep 1. F/Lt. H.E. Maguire (Canada). Wellington LW519 in Channel 30 August 1944.
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Brielle Old Cemetery
Brielle has one war grave, a washed ashore airman. In the old cemetery in Brielle in the Johan Beenlaan-street, is buried RAF Sgt. David Dickson. He was flight engineer of Lancaster ND579 (166 sqn). Crashed in the North Sea southwest and close to Hook of Holland night 21/22 May 1944. His pilot became POW, one man evaded and the other crewmembers washed ashore in the vicinity and are buried in Hook of Holland, The Hague and Bergen-op-Zoom.
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Zwartewaal General Cemetery
Blenheim L8866 (18 Sqn) dove here in the sea west of Oostvoorne on 4 July 1940. Fishermen from Zwartewaal brought into their homeport the body of pilot Flight Lieutenant Ivor C.B. Worthington-Wilmer. They recoverd him from the sea at Brielle. The sea is clear here and not very deep. The Germans recovered the wreck and with it the body of Sgt. George Edwin Maydon. He was buried first in a fieldgrave in the dunes and later in Oostvoorne (photos here on website WO2VPR1: https://sites.google.com/site/wo2vpr1/home/1940-07-04-blenheim Sgt. Jesse G. Stanley is MIA. Later the crash position of L8866 became a lake (Oostvoornsemeer) and during dredging in the 1960's some small parts of L8866 were found.
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Rozenburg Cemetery
Address: Kerkweg. Here are buried four men, all identified airmen. Early war-time cemetery.
- Blenheim L8828 (40 Sqn) was on mission to Ypenburg airfeld where German paratroopers had landed on the first day of the invasion of the Netherlands 10 May 1940. It was shot down in the North Sea off Rockanje. Pilot F/O Percival J.H. Rowan was recovered from the water and buried in Rozenburg Cemetery. His crew washed ashore and were buried in Rockanje (Cpl. Clark) and s'Gravenzande (Sgt. Beardwood).
- Swordfish L7646 of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (825 Sqn, HMS Kestrel) attacked night 2/3 July 1940 Rotterdam Port and barges that were assembled there for the invasion of the UK. It was shot down by Flak and crashed on Rozenburg Island. Crew Sub-Lt. Barry P. Grigson and Sub-Lt. Frederick L. Lees were killed and buried as unknown airmen in Rozenburg cemetery. In this same night Swordfish L2829 was shot down south of Schiphol Airfield and Leading Aircraftmen Burt was buried at Amsterdam.
- Swordfish L9716, RN Fleet Air Arm (812 sqn, HMS Peregrine). On 31 August 1940 this aircraft had a similar mission as above. Pilot Lt. George Villiers-Tuthill drowned near Rozenburg. He was buried as 'Willers' and post war identified. His crewmember midshipsman Maurice V. Driver became POW.
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ROTTERDAM 'CROOSWIJK' CEMETERY
Address: Kerkhoflaan 5, Rotterdam.
Polish casualties: 11. Not identified: 5. Commonwealth: 124. Americans: exhumed.
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Above and below image clearly show the exhumed war graves.
The buried 'Known unto God' airmen in Rotterdam:
1. An Airman, a Sgt, Canada (RCAF), buried 11 October 1942.
2. An Airman, no rank, no RAF emblem, buried 16 October1942.
3. An Airman, no rank, no RAF emblem, buried 3 November 1942.
4. An Airman, a Pilot Officer, RAF, buried 25 June 1943.
5. A Soldier, (nothing more on headstone than date), 23 June 1945.
© ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War).
Coastal cemeteries with war graves to the North of here:
- Hook of Holland (s'Gravenzande & Monster included): http://www.zzairwar.nl/dossiers/866.html
- The Hague (Den Haag) 'Westduin' Cemetery: http://www.zzairwar.nl/dossiers/867.html
- Wassenaar 'het Lange Duin' Cemetery (exhumed): http://www.zzairwar.nl/dossiers/863.html
- Noordwijk aan Zee: http://www.zzairwar.nl/dossiers/868.html
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