Commonwealth War Graves N.H. Cemetery Oudewater

The Protestant Cemetery at Oudewater contains the graves of seven British & Commonwealth Graves.

On the night of 9-10 April 1943, a Lancaster III Bomber, ED502 WS-V (nicknamed Barbara Mary) of No 9 Squadron, took off at 2048 hrs from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, England. It was shot down on the way home by Hptm Hans-Dieter Frank of 2./NJG 1 (his 21st victory) based at Venlo. It crashed at 2345 hrs at Snelrewaard (Utrecht) 3 km north east of Oudewater, Holland.

These men were taking part in the Duisburg raid of 9/10 April 1943, on which 5 Mosquitos and 104 Lancasters were dispatched, but thick cloud again caused a scattered attack. 8 Lancasters were lost in total during this operation.
　
The names of the seven airmen are:-

Warrant Officer Arthur Miles White, 23 years old from Wiakato in New Zealand. Pilot.
Sergeant William Barker, 32 years old from Cromer, Norfolk. Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.
Flying Officer Hector Robertson, 25 years old from Aberdeen, Scotland. Navigator.
Sergeant William Jakeway, 19 years old from Barnet in Hents. Air Gunner.
Sergeant Norman Tutt, 22 years old from Ashford in Kent. Flight Engineer.
Flying Officer Graham Gibbins, 20 years old from Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia. Bomb Aimer.
Flying Officer Newton Bird, age unknown from Camps Bay in South Africa. Tail Gunner.

The names of the airmen buried here are also engraved on a small Dutch memorial erected on the opposite side of the road.

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Source

• Text: Robert McAllister
• Photos: Arjan Vrieze