Commonwealth War Graves Molenaarsgraaf

Molenaarsgraaf Protestant Churchyard is behind the Protestant church which stands in the centre of the village. This cemetery contains six Commonwealth airmen of the Second World War, killed on 22/05/1944. They were part of the crew of the Lancaster ND559 from 156 Squadron. They were shot down by a German fighter, while on a mission to Duisburg.

The crew of the Lancaster ND559:
Flight Sergeant W.J. Ward (Pilot)
Sergeant S.G. Smith (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant E.E.E. Roberts (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant R.G. Watts (Wireless Operator)
Flight Sergeant R. Keating (Air Bomber)
Squadron Leader J.E. Blair (Air Gunner)
Sergeant J.T.E. McCaffery (Air Gunner)

The pilot, Flight Sergeant Ward, was able to bail out and bring himself to safety. He was found by the Germans and spent the rest of the war as a POW. The other crew members didn't survive the crash and are buried at Molenaarsgraaf. On an information panel at the entrance of the cemetery you can read about ND559's final flight. In 2017 a memorial for the crew of this aircraft was erected nearby.

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Source

• Text: Pieter Schlebaum
• Photos: Arjan Vrieze (1,3,4) & Fedor de Vries (2)