Commonwealth War Graves Special Cemetery Holwerd

On the Special Cemetery of Holwerd are five Commonwealth War Graves.

There is the crew of the Wellington bomber X3539

Sergeant (W.Op/Air Gnr.) John Gordon George Hegan 411075, RNZAF, age 23
Sergeant Murdoch Gordon McGregor 11079, RNZAF, age 23
Sergeant (W.Op/Air Gnr.) Ernest Francis Sydney Moncrief 411087, RNZAF, age 25
Sergeant (Obs.) Douglas Haig Randle 405454, RNZAF, age 24

On 29 June 1942 departed from airbase RAF Feltwell, the Wellington of X3539 of No. 75 Squadron RAF, with the mission: a bombing raid over the city of Bremen in Germany. The aircraft was part of a formation of 253 bombers with the same mission. Among these were 108 Wellington's, 64 Lancasters, 47 Stirlings en 34 Halifaxes. X3539 was shot down by the German night fighter Oberleutnant Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld 5./NJG 2 and crashed into the Waddenzee near Holwerd. All five crew members died in the crash. Four of them are buried in this cemetery and one crew member was never recovered. In total, 11 bombers were lost during this mission, 4 Stirlings, 4 Wellingtons and 3 Halifaxes. Several houses and factories, including an aircraft factory and a submarine factory were badly damaged.

There is also one crew member of the Lancaster bomber W4778

Flight Sergeant (Pilot) Alan Raymond Moffatt 1219556

On 2 August 1943 at 23:47 departed from RAF Dunholme Lodge, the Lancaster W4778 of No. 44 Squadron RAF, with the mission: a bombing raid over the city of Hamburg in Germany. The aircraft was part of a formation of 740 bombers with the same mission. This mission was the last mission of Operation Gomorrah, a large series of attacks on Hamburg with the aim to completely destroy the city. In eight consecutive days RAF Bomber Command flew five bombing missions to the big city of Hamburg, on 27 July, a firestorm was created in the center of town. In total, nearly 35,000 people were killed in the largest bombing operation of World War II. W4778 was shot down by the German night fighter Hptm Hans Joachim Jabs, IV./NJGI and crashed into the Waddenzee. Of the seven crew members, six were killed. One of them is buried in this cemetery.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar.nl
• Photos: Klaas Graansma (1), Nico Nienhuis (2, 3, 4, 5)