Commonwealth War Graves Haasrode

At the churchyard in Haasrode, municipality Oud-Heverlee, lie eight Commonwealth war graves.

There are two crew members of the Halifax JB873:

On May 13, 1943 at 2329 departed from Linton-on-Ouse airbase, the Halifax JB873 with the mission a raid over the city of Bochum in Germany. The aircraft was shot down over Belgium by the German night-fighter Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer, after that the aircraft crashed near Haasrode. In the crash, two of the eight crew members got killed. They were both buried in this cemetery. Of the remaining crew members, one managed to escape and five were taken prisoner of war by the Germans.

Sergeant (Pilot) James Howard Body, 658465, age 21
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Gerald Herbert Dane, 146425, age 20

There is also the crew of Stirling BK813:

On June 24, 1943 at 2332 departed from West Wickham airbase, the Stirling BK813 with the mission a raid over the city of Wuppertal in Germany. The aircraft was shot down over Belgium by the German night-fighter Ofw. (Oberfeldwebel) Kollak Reinhard, after that the aircraft crashed at 0139 in Haasrode. In the crash, six of the seven crew members got killed. They were all buried in this cemetery. One crew member survived the crash who was taken prisoner of war by the Germans.

Sergeant (Air Bomber) Aubrey Charles Harris, RAF, 1319009, age 30
Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner) Gordon Henderson, RNZAF, 42327, age 30
Sergeant (Nav.) Hyman Levine, RAF, 658831
Flight Sergeant (W.Op.) Leo Petersen, RNZAF, 403611, age 22
Sergeant (Air Gunner) Patrick James Taylor, RAF, 1346152, age 26
Flight Sergeant Walter Henry Teede, RAAF, 16774, age 29

On the wall of the cemetery, a plaque is placed (photo 4) that commemorates the victims that are buried in this cemetery. The plaque also tells the stories of the crashes.

We like to add more information about the casualties buried in these graves. If you know more about these graves, please contact us.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar.nl
• Photos: Luc van Waeyenberge