The Halifax monument ‘Resistance, Freedom, Victory’ in Hank (municipality of Altena) was erected in memory of the seven allied crew members of the British-Canadian bomber Halifax LV905 MK III that crashed in the Oranjepolder near Hank on 25 May 1944.
In the night of 24 to 25 May 1944, the Bomber Command of the RAF carried out an attack with 432 aircraft on a railway yard near the German city of Aachen. From the Breighton base in Yorkshire, England, the Handley Page Halifax MK III bomber (serial no. LV905) took off to take part in this ‘raid’. The aircraft belonged to the “No 4 Group Bomber-Command, 78 Squadron RAF (Preston’s Own)”. On board were seven crew members from Great Britain, Canada and Rhodesia.
After a successful attack on a railway yard near Aachen, the Allied bomber flew back to its base. However, disaster struck on the way. The aircraft was shot down by a German Messerschmitt and crashed in the Oranjepolder in the Bieschbos. All seven crew members were killed. Their names are: Pilot Officer Eric Benjamin Wilson, Flight Sergeant Joe Henderson, Flying Officer Norman Allan Marston DFC, Flying Officer Sidney Glen Peterson, Flight Sergeant Joseph Thomas Lloyd LeBlanc, Sergeant George Herbert Butler and Sergeant William John White.
The tail section of the Halifax and the remains of two crew members were recovered. In 1953, they were buried with military honours at the Jonkerbos military cemetery in Nijmegen. The remainder of the Halifax with the remains of the remaining five crew members was recovered by the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 2005. The five servicemen were reunited with their fellow crew members on 27 September 2006 at the Jonkerbos military cemetery. This took place with military honours, under the supervision of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Translated by Google •
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