Memorial Crash Short Stirling Bomber LK-548

Erected in memory of the fallen crew members of the Short Stirling Bomber LK-548 of the Royal Air Force which was hit by enemy fire on 20 September 1944 and crashed in Vorstenbosch.

Two brothers, Jan and Toin Smolenaers, as 11 and 12-year-old boys, witnessed the crash. Jan says:
"That day, at a distance of 200 metres, we witnessed the crash of the burning plane on the Meuwelweg in Vorstenbosch. The plane approached, burning, very low from the direction of Nistelrode. We saw how some crew members succeeded , by parachute, to leave the burning plane. The plane seemed to fall on the farm of the Verhoeven family. But the pilot managed to avoid the farm by pulling something up, after which it crashed about 100 meters away in a meadow. it turned out that there were still five crew members on the plane at the time."

Seventy years later Peter McHugh from Australia visited Vorstenbosch, looking for the place where his uncle, pilot Maurice McHugh (photo 5) had crashed. But he was also looking for the two eyewitnesses from that time. He found both! He was very impressed with everything he was told here.

In the museum of the Royal Dutch Air Base Volkel, he even got to see the bent propeller of the plane his uncle was piloting. He was later handed a pair of skates by Ties van der Heijden whose father had used part of the crashed plane to make skates.

On behalf of the family, he brought a plaque with the names of all crew members. The killed crew members are:

P/O Maurice McHugh, Royal Australian Airforce - Pilot (photo 5)
F/Sgt Eric Arthur Bradshaw, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve - Wireless Op
Sgt Thomas Vickers, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve- Rear Gunner
Mr Ernest Victor Heckford, Royal Army Service Corps - Dispatcher
L/Cpl John Waring Royal Army Service Corps - Dispatcher

All buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, except Heckford whose body has not been recovered. His name is on the Groesbeek Memorial.

After the departure of Peter McHugh, a good destination for the plaque was sought with the cooperation of the municipality, local residents and the village council. An initiative group 'war monument Vorstenbosch' was put together.

Exactly one year later on September 20, 2015, in the presence of relatives of the killed Australian and British soldiers, a monument was unveiled at the site of the crash by Loco Mayor Rien Wijdeven and Toon Verhoeven. The latter lived in the farmhouse that pilot Maurice McHugh managed to avoid.

On the same day, Maurice was posthumously awarded the Bravery Award in Sydney, presented by the Dutch Ambassador Mrs. Annemieke Ruigrok together with the Dutch military attache Lt. Col. Harold Jacobs. A neighbor boy of Jan Smolenaers who lives in Australia was also present, he laid a wreath on behalf of the residents of Vorstenbosch.

Jan Smolenaers is grateful that at his age he was still allowed to tell about that indelible moment and that he could contribute to the realization of the monument.

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Source

• Text: Jan Smolenaers
• Photos: Harry van den Bergh (1, 2, 3, 4), Christine de Haas-Smolenaers (5)

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