Vilt in Berg en Terblijt in Valkenburg aan de Geul, Limburg, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe

Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 29, 2024

1. Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial - narrative panel

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Op Nieuwjaarsdag 1945 rond 22:00 uur stortte op deze plek een vliegtuig neer met 8 bemanningsleden. Het vliegtuig had een spooremplacement bij de Duitse stad Wuppertal gebombardeerd met ruim 4.000 kg bommen en was op terugreis naar Engeland.

De bemanning bestond uit de Nieuw- Zeelandse piloot Richard Justin Aittchison (28 jaar), zes jonge Engelse vrijwilligers van 19 tot 25 jaar en instructeur Raymond John Newton.

Alleen het lijk van staartschutter Leonard James Cooke (19 jaar) werd geborgen, de zeven andere inzittenden werden niet getraceerd en vonden hier hun graf.

Ter herinnering aan hen die hun leven verloren in het gevecht voor onze vrijheid

01-01-1945 R.N.Z.A.F. - R.A.F.

Raymond John Newton
Richard Justin Aitchison
Harry Sansome
Arthur Lee
Victor James Clark
John Stanley Hoskins
Martin Brennan
Leonard James Cooke

(English translation:)
On New Year's Day 1945 around 10:00 PM, a plane with 8 crew members crashed at this location. The plane had bombed a railway yard near the German city of Wuppertal with more than 4,000 kg of bombs and was on its way back to England.

The crew consisted of New Zealand pilot Richard Justin Aittchison (28 years old), six young English volunteers aged 19 to 25 and instructor Raymond John Newton.

Only the body of tail gunner Leonard James Cooke (19 years old) was recovered, the seven other passengers were not traced and found their grave here.

In memory of those who lost their lives in the fight for our freedom

01-01-1945 R.N.Z.A.F. - R.A.F.

Raymond John Newton
Richard Justin Aitchison
Harry Sansome
Arthur Lee
Victor James Clark
John Stanley Hoskins
Martin Brennan
Leonard James Cooke

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Vilt, Stichting de Rotswoning Berg en Terblijt.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • War, World II. A significant historical date for this entry is January 1, 1945.

Location. 50° 51.525′ N, 5° 48.492′ E. Memorial is in Berg en Terblijt, Limburg, in Valkenburg aan de Geul. It is in Vilt. It is at the intersection of Zwaluwstraat and Merelstraat, in the median on Zwaluwstraat. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: Zwaluwstraat 35, Berg en Terblijt, Limburg 6325, Netherlands. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Europe,

the European Union,

Atlantic Europe,

the Benelux Low Countries,

the Schengen Area,

Western Europe,

and the Western World.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire

and specifically also the Holy Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Romeinse Katakomben / Roman Catacombs (approx. 1.2 kilometers away); Philips Fabriek / Philips Factory (approx. 1.2 kilometers away); Valkenburg Holocaust Memorial (approx. 1.2 kilometers away); De Via Belgica (approx. 1.3 kilometers away); Werktuigen van Vuursteen / Flint Tools

Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial - names panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 29, 2024

2. Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial - names panel

(approx. 1.3 kilometers away); Haksporen / Tool Marks (approx. 1.3 kilometers away); Vuurstijn-Mijnwerkers / Flint Miners (approx. 1.3 kilometers away); Kruitmolen/ Gunpowder Mill (approx. 1.3 kilometers away).

Also see . . . Allied Killed in Action (Arnold Schunck). A small part of Arnold Schunck’s effort to collect and present a wide variety of stories and sources concerning the Valkenburg area during World War II.

Extract: After the liberation of Valkenburg in September 1944, the war was not over yet. In Valkenburg 75 jaar bevrijd (“Valkenburg 75 years liberated”) we read on page 155: “On New Year’s Day 1945, a burning Lancaster crashed in a meadow of Maas farm in Vilt at 10 o’clock in the evening.” (Source: Frans Bergsteĳn).

Aircraft: Avro Lancaster III, Registration=Serial Number: ME321

Takeoff from: RAF Station Mepal @ 03:48 pm on a bombing mission to Vohwinkel (Wuppertal) to attack railway yard. A successful attack. While overflying the Netherlands, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in Vilt.

Crew: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve - Group 3 - Squadron 75 (New Zealand).
All eight crew members
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 29, 2024

3. Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial
were killed:
Pilot Raymond John Newton, 28, pilot Richard Justin Aitchison, 28, navigator Harry Sansome, 21, air bomber Arthur Lee, 25, wireless operator Victor James Clark, 20 , flight engineer John Stanley Hoskins, 23, air gunner Martin Brennan, age? and tail gunner Leonard James Cooke, 19.

(Submitted on May 31, 2024.)

Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial - wider view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, May 29, 2024

4. Vilt Bomber Crash Memorial - wider view

Credits. This page was last revised on July 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 175 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 31, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.