Crash Site Halifax Bomber HR836

On 24 May 1943, the Halifax HR 836 bomber crashed at this site. The aircraft was part of a fleet of 826 RAF bombers that attempted to deal heavy blows to industry in the German Ruhr region. The aircraft making its first operational flight belonged to the 51st Squadron based at Snaith, Yorkshire, northern England. It had dropped its bombs and was flying north towards Leiden on its return flight via Arnhem. The plane was shot down by a German Messerschmitt and landed in what is now Kleyn Proffijtlaan in Oegstgeest.

Most of the crashed aircraft remained above the ground and could be recovered by the Germans. The front part of the plane landed many metres below the peat soil. All crew members were killed. Four of them were recovered and buried near the Groene Kerkje in Oegstgeest. Some body parts of the other three crew members were found and buried, but the men themselves were left in the front part of the plane.

Today, a plaque at the spot where the plane crashed recalls this event. The text on the plaque reads:

‘AT THIS SPOT THE CREW OF HALIFAX HR 836,
OF 51 SQUADRON RAF, ATTEMPTED AN
EMERGENCY LANDING. THE ENTIRE CREW WAS KILLED

THREE OF THE MEN STILL REST AT THIS SPOT:

PILOT, FLYINGOFFICER JOHN EDWARD RIGBY, RAF (VR), 21 YEARS OLD
NAVIGATOR, FLIGHT SERGEANT HENRY GRAHAM FREEMAN, RCAF 24 YEARS
MID UPPER GUNNER, SERGEANT HENRY JOHN GIBBS, RAF (VR) ± 19 YEARS

THE OTHER FOUR ARE LAID TO REST AT THE LITTLE GREEN CHURCH:

BOMB AIMER, FLYING OFFICER THOMAS HERBERT GREEN, RAF (VR), 25 YEARS
REAR GUNNER, FLIGHT SERGEANT MERTON EARL ZAPFE, RCAF, 20 YEARS
WIRELESS OPERATOR/ AIR GUNNER, SERGEANT AUBREY EDGAR PERRIN ROCHESTER, RAF (VR), 33 YEARS
FLIGHT ENGINEER, SERGEANT ALASTAIR MILNER HOOD BLACK, RAF, 25 YEARS’.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Edwin Dusoswa
• https://www.4en5mei.nl/oorlogsmonumenten/zoeken/3345/haaswijk-oorlogsmonument