Relation with Lake (class): None. Cemetery without lake link.  
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): at least 1. 
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): 0 
Unknown today: 0
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 0
of which unknown from North Sea (NS-U): 0
Initial burial site in WW2: yes.
Post war burial site for collection and reburial from other sites: no.
Cemetery with Lake casualties today: no.


                  
WAPENVELD GENERAL CEMETERY

In this cemetery were no graves with CWGC-headstones, there was a single war grave on which the local people erected a grave monument in 1943 with text 'Here rest an English flyer'. In fact this grave contains the remains of one of the missing 4 crew members of Halifax DT795, 158 Sqn, shot down by a German nightfighter in the night of 3/4 April 1943 on a raid to Essen. The aircraft penetrated deep in the soft canal-bank near the windmill in Wapenveld.

   

Dutch name cemetery: Wapenveld Alg. Begr. pl.  
Full name: Heerde (Wapenvelde) General Cem.
Address (usable for car navigation):
Kwartelweg, Wapenveld.

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On the 8th of September 2014, a recovery operation started to dig out the parts of the aircraft that still in the ground and water (photo above). Already in the begin of the project remains of 2 RAF airmen have been found (not identified yet). Without doubt they belong to the MIA Sgts. Walters, Hawkins, Jones and/or Eldridge. The mill in the background of the above photos has a website on which the operation can be followed day by day with photos: www.molendevlijtwapenveld.nl/nieuws





Photo right: the grave and monument in Wapenveld with remains of at least one of the missing:
  
Flight Engineer Sgt. Gerald S. Walters  (ex-MIA, burial ceremony Wapenveld 28 June 2016)
Navigator Sgt. William D. Hawkins  (ex-MIA          "                                     "     
Air Bomber Sgt. John C. Jones  (ex-MIA                "                                       "     
Wireless Operator Sgt. Philip H. Eldridge (ex-MIA     "                                  "     


The pilot and 2 other crew members are buried in Amersfoort (Oud-Leusden) 'Rusthof' cemetery:

Pilot W/O 1  Frederick H. Blake (USA). Of Dallas, Oregon
WO/AG  W/O 2  Sgt. Rodney Webber (USA, NMI). Born Missoula, later Bellingham Washington.
Rear Gunner Sgt. Thomas V. Trollope










   





Photo below: The fact that Trollope, Blake and Webber are buried in Amersfoort is remarkable. That cemetery is not the logical choice for burial location for a crash in Wapenveld, because Amersfoort is (over the road) 70km away. Amersfoort became after the war a centralization-cemetery where cleared war graves from other locations were reburied. However, Trollope, Blake and Webber are not buried in the post war rows. They are in row 5 and lay on date/burial sequence with their neighbors also buried in 1943. This proves their remains were actually transported to here in April 1943. W/O  Frederick H. Blake was American and flew as volunteer in the Canadian Airforce. Sgt. Rodney Webber also (of Bellingham, Washington), but only he has 'of USA' under his name on the gravestone. There are much more American RCAF volunteers buried around the Lake. See for more info on them this site: www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/americans379.html 























































28 June 2016.

Burial with military honour of the recovered remains of three airmen in one coffin. They could not be individual identified. With the unknown Sgt. under the monument, all four missing sergeants of DT795 were accounted for and each will receive a CWGC-headstone with name next to the original monument.





























































© ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War)