Translation with the help of Google translate. Only one of the six columns has been documented here. Klik hier om naar de versie in het Nederlands te gaan (pagina met alle zes Gedenkzuilen).
Introduction, six columns
In the municipality of De Ronde Venen, memorial columns have been erected at the six places where war planes crashed during the Second World War. What is special is that this was done for both Allied and German aircraft, so for friend and enemy.
The columns have the shape of a lectern, made of a steel plate with a bend. The date and a crashing plane are recessed into the base. Note the cutout, it always corresponds to the silhouette of the war plane.
The information panel is attached to the upper bent part with details of the aircraft, the flight and crew. This information is the result of a major investigation by Mr. Chris van der Linden. He has extensively documented the accidents on the Air War Waverveen and Surroundings website.
A suggestion from a resident has led to a project within the Historical Association De Proosdijlanden led by former councilor Jan van Breukelen, with this beautiful result, 75 years after the last of the six accidents.
Memorial column Vickers Wellington, 5 mei 1943
Wilnis, roundabout Mijdrechtse Dwarsweg/N212 Ir. Enschedeweg, at the entrance to the P+R lot
Vickers Wellington memorial column that crashed further away (behind the trees) on May 5, 1943. Click on the photo to enlarge the information panel.
On May 5, 2020, a passerby had put a rose in the three of 1943. Photo taken 7 hours and 77 years after the crew members died.
In connection with this Memorial column …
1. The Bristol Hercules XVI-engine monument, to the left of this column.
2. The Robert Moulton path, halfway to Wilnis village, the walking path over the railway embankment is named after the pilot (April 2019).
3. In Wilnis village: Memorial to fallen Canadian soldiers by Edwin Merks and their graves in the adjacent cemetery of the NH church.
To the left of the Memorial column Vickers Wellington is the Bristol Hercules XVI engine monument of this aircraft.
Location of the impact and excavation in September 2002. The square indicates the location of the Memorial column Vickers Wellington. The parking lot in the woods. Photo collection Piet Kroon.
If you walk through the parking lot to the gate, you will have a good view of the place. In the photo the cows are lying exactly where the plane crashed. The pasture there was slightly raised after the salvage operation in 2002.
A cut-out of Chris van der Linden’s funeral card. Source: Nieuwe Meerbode August 21, 2019. Sad about his passing, but full of admiration for the man who gave the fallen crews a name and a face on his website and the Memorial Columns. Henk B. Click on the image to enlarge.
Collage that Chris van der Linden received from the Historical Association De Proosdijlanden just before his death. At that time the last two (German) Memorial Columns had been placed. This collage was later the basis for the collage that Mayor Maarten Divendal received at the unveiling of the Bristol Hercules XVI engine monument. Click on the picture to enlarge.
“Je wilt gewoon weten wat die jongens heeft bewogen om in die vliegtuigen te stappen”
“You just want to know what motivated those guys to get on those planes”
Chris van der Linden