Relation with Lake (class): Lake Area Inland Cemetery (LAI)  
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): 7 end of war. Today: 7.  
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): 0
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.
Post war burial site for collection and reburial from other sites: no.
Cemetery with Lake casualties today: no.


         
WOGNUM 

In the night of 28/29 June 1943 Lancaster ED569 of the 207 Sqn crashed between Wognum and Hoorn, just south-east of this church. It was shot down by German nightfighter Werner Husemann. According to eyewitness Mr. Volkert Nobel, the Lancaster dove in a 45 degree angle into the embankment of the road Wognum-Hoorn (Hoornse weg), on the southern side. There ran also the main drink water pipeline for this region. The impact shattered the underground pipe and large quantities of water prevented the outbreak of any fire. "The only man recovered was the tailgunner, the rest of the crew was deep in the ground under the road". 

    

Dutch name cemetery: Wognum Protestantse kerkhof. 
Full name: Wognum Protestant Churchyard
Address (usable for car navigation):
Raadhuisstraat 16, Wognum.

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see address and info at CONTACT.
Please use as subject title: 'Wognum'.










The above photo with dead airman has no caption, the man is not identified. However, the picture originates from this area. After researching several options, we believe it shows the situation outside Wognum around on June 29 1944 around 14:00h. The only recovered man from Lancaster ED569 is laying dead on the meadow opposite to the side (slope) of the road. This must be either gunner Sgt. William Cook or Sgt. James T. Lloyd. The Germans retrieved of the entire crew only the name of Sgt. Cook (see below war time German photo of the grave). 

After release by the Germans, the body was brought to the nearest morgue and cemetery, which was at this Protestant church in Wognum (photo below). On the yard behind this church the airman was buried. Later this grave ('13 A'), became the collective grave representing the whole crew of Lancaster ED569. 






































































The burial 1943. 

Underneath 6 photo's belong to a larger series with more photo's. Numerous individual copies (but never the entire series) circulate in West-Friesland. Original data on what the photo's represent has been lost, but they show burial of an English airman. The location is still clearly identifiable as the churchyard of the Protestant church in Wognum, situation and the position of the grave have not changed, see photo's further down. Since there was only 1 such burial during WW2 in Wognum, we are looking here at the burial of Sgt. Cook of Lancaster ED569. 
 




























































The path and war grave today:











































































The German grave markers for crew ED569.

The day after the Lancaster bomber crashed into the road (Hoornse weg) and severed the water supply, repairs started. The road was vital to get fresh milk from the farms towards Hoorn and supplies the other way, not to mention German military transport. The crater was hastily examined, some recoveries from the wreck were made, but then the pit was closed (forever). 30 years later, a motorway (the A7 Amsterdam-Den Oever) was laid here and it crosses over this location. The information the Germans had gathered from the crash site was used for the first grave markers. Underneath war time image shows grave 'A13' in Wognum with the black German crosses.  



























The German text on the 5 crosses reads (from back left to front right): 

HIER RUHT 1 ENGL. FLIEGER LEUTNANT NAME UNBEKANNT, GEFALLEN AM 29.6.1943
(Here rests 1 English airman (flyer), a Lieutenant, name unknown, fallen on 29 June 1943)

HIER RUHT 1 ENGL. FLIEGER NAME UNBEKANNT, GEFALLEN AM 29.6.1943
(Here rests 1 English airman, name unknown, fallen on 29 June 1943

HIER RUHT 1 ENGL. FLIEGER NAME WELKINSON, GEFALLEN AM 29.6.1943
(Here rests 1 English airman, name unknown, fallen on 29 June 1943

HIER RUHT 1 ENGL. FLIEGER NAME COOK, GEFALLEN AM 29.6.1943
(Here rests 1 English airman, name Cook, fallen on 29 June 1943)

HIER RUHT 1 ENGL. FLIEGER SERGEANT NAME JONSTON, GEFALLEN AM 29.06.1943
(Here rests 1 English airman, name Jonston, fallen on 29 June 1943)


There were no Welkinson or a Johnston in the crew. The Germans tried to reconstitute the names on what little they had. The actual crew had 7 members and were: pilot Flying Officer Philip C.D. Russell (Canada), navigator Flying Officer Francis E. Fielding, Flight Engineer Sgt. Victor H.J. Watkins, Bomber Sgt. Arthur William Richardson, WO/AG Sgt. Denis Scragg, Air Gunner Sgt. James T. Lloyd and Air Gunner Sgt. William W.R. Cook (age 37). It is possible the found remains were added in the grave in another coffin (on top of the first, as is common in Holland), or were added in the first coffin.  



Grave today: 

















































































































































Monument

The local community erected a monument for the crew on the crash position beside the road. This was the first monument, a phoenix, see here. Later the monument had to be moved from there because of the motorway and its eroded condition. It was replaced by the monument on underneath photo, representing a Lancaster's tail fin with a chunk out of it (the phoenix). Names of the crew are engraved. It stands in a park not far from the cemetery. 


















































Sources: 

- site 207squadron
- site 4en5mei.nl
- site www.vanderkrogt.net
- site CWGC
- site verhalenophalen.nl



  
© ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War)