Relation with Lake (class): Lake Casualty Cemetery (LCC)  
Total nr. of casualties buried here (TC): at least 12 end WW2. Today: 7.  
Lake casualties, initially, end WW2 (LC-I): at least 12.
Unknown today: 5, all airmen.
of which unknown from Lake (LC-U): 5
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: yes (LCE).


         
KAMPEN - IJSSELMUIDEN GENERAL CEMETERY

'Cape' Kampen has an urban centre that consists out of three communities: the city Kampen on the south bank of the river IJssel ("Eissel") and opposite the villages IJsselmuiden and Grafhorst on the north bank. In 1829 it was ordered to bury dead only outside the builded area. All three communities chose a low sandy hill on the north bank, known as 'the Sand berg', for their new burial location (on the terrain of IJsselmuiden). The new cemetery on the hill was divided into five sections. Build were a Jewish and a Roman Catholic plot and each of the three communities build their own General (in fact Protestant) cemetery. During WW2 each town came in contact with airwar and each buried 'their' Allied airmen in its General Cemetery. There are 3 CWGC graves locations here on this 'hill': Kampen General, IJsselmuiden General and Grafhorst General cemetery. In walking distance of each other.
     
 
Dutch name cemetery: Kampen Algm. Begr. pl. "Zandberg"
Full name: Kampen General Cemetery and/or IJsselmuiden Gen. Cem.
Address (usable for car navigation):
Rondeweg 7,   8271 DG, IJsselmuiiden (Kampen municipally).

For reaction or comments; send us an email,
see address and info at CONTACT.
Please use as subject title: 'Kampen'.








The CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) registered each of the three cemetery here as follows in its database (north to south): 

- IJsselmuiden (Grafhorst) General Cemetery. Address: Grafhorsterweg 73-81, 8277 AB - Grafhorst. Here rest a crew of 6 men (1 POW) of Lancaster W4316, 460 Sqn
   (Vaughan, Gordon, Day, Lundie, Thomas and Young), 13 June 1943. Most northern located cemetery, on the foot of the hill, some distance away.

- Kampen General Cemetery. Address: Rondeweg 7, 8271 DG - IJsselmuiden. 7 airmen from the lake rest here. Only 2 of them identified (Tudhope and Kitchen).

- IJsselmuiden General Cemetery. Address: Rondeweg 5, 8271 DG - IJsselmuiden. Here rest the crew 7 men of Lancaster PA986, 12 Sqn (Williams, Lloyd, Plant, 
   Keyte, Barber, Wallinger and Gribben). Wallinger was first buried as unknown airman and remains of Gribben were recovered from the wrecksite in 1987.

Because IJsselmuiden General has become entwined with Kampen General in past years, we consider them as one cemetery. IJsselmuiden-Grafhorst has its own web-page.


KAMPEN GENERAL CEMETERY (photo below), PLOT 7

Kampen General is a genuine Lake IJsselmeer/Old Zuyder Sea airwar cemetery (LCE/LCC). During the war, the wind brought bodies to this coast from aircraft that crashed in the lake to the South-west of here. Because Kampen patrolled also the South-dike of the Northeast polder (up to Schokkerhaven), a bay ('Ketel') formed under the jurisdiction of Kampen and bodies were 'cornered' here by the wind. In 1946, 12 airmen lay buried here and all were individually recovered from the water on different dates. 5 were American, 2 from the UK identified by name. Five men remained nameless but their nationality could be established based on their uniforms: 3 unknown are from the UK, 1 is Australian and 1 is from New Zealand. These 'Known unto God' are still here today, which makes this cemetery important for researchers.  





















































The two empty graves in the middle of the row contained the first two American airmen: S/Sgt John H. Larson and 1Lt. George C. Wylie. See also underneath scheme.
   


































THE FIRST BURIAL 1940
First to be buried here was P/O W.F. Tudhope, crashed in the lake early in the war on 10 August 1940. He washed ashore 2 weeks later through the last gap in the Northeast polder dike and was found at nearby Schokland. Buried in Kampen General grave 11 on 27 August 1940, with German military honour. An SS-platoon (probably a training- or recruit unit) carried the coffin and fired a rifle salute. The aircraft, Hampden P4368 of 144 Sqn, was never found (3 men MIA). Read more on this on the isle-of-wight website (article by Hans Hollestelle).









































German photos (source unknown), 27 August 1940, funeral P/O Tudhope. Allied burials with German military honor became rare between 1942-1945. Photo below shows the SS-section with the rifles. On the right hand side is a Luftwafffe-group of 9 men, standing at the attention.













































     

KAMPEN GENERAL CEMETERY (photo below), PLOT 10
After the first burial in August 1940 in Plot 7, they reserved 6 graves here next to the first grave for Allied war dead. End 1944 this row was full. The cemetery had grown with civilians and when begin 1945 again Allied airmen washed ashore, they had to bury them in Plot 10. This is opposite to Plot 7, but some distance away. Today rest here F/O A. Kitchen (Mosquito ML979) and an unknown RAF airman, buried January 1946 (war ended 9 months before). Washing up after 9 months in the lake is possible, but we believe he was recovered from a wreck(site) discovered in January 1946. To the right of Alfred Kitchen lay 3 American airmen, washed ashore here in February and March 1945. 


The Americans in Kampen

First USAAF-airman buried here was S/Sgt. John Larson, crew of B-24H 42-7638, 44 BG. This bomber is well known in Holland as 'The B-24 in the Oostvaardersplassen'. Recovered 1975. My father and grandfather lost fishing nets a number of times on this wreck before 1962. This aircraft made a rough bellylanding in the lake on 22 Dec. 1943. It sank unseen next to the shipping lane Amsterdam-Kampen (Ketelmeer). It was cold and misty weather and by chance a German patrol boat passed on its way to Kampen. They spotted co-pilot Lt. Charles Taylor in the ice cold water, semi-conscious, hanging only with his arm onto a dinghy. Taylor later said that Sgt. Larson was already on board, but the Germans could not revive him. The German report mentions that Larson was also seriously wounded.

The second American was 1Lt. George C. Wylie. He was of the Maginnis-crew of B-17F 42-3486, crashed in the lake 11 January 1944. Wylie washed ashore March 25, 1944. The three men on Plot 10 were Sgts Todd, Hoyal and Tillotson. Crew of B-24 "Satans little sister" 42-95180. This aircraft crashed in the lake 21st Nov. 1944. Most parachuted before the crash, their bodies washed up 3-4 months later. 

In March 1946 all Americans were exhumed from Kampen General by a US Quarter Master Grave Registration Company. They were re-interred in Belgium in "Ardennes American Cemetery" in Neuville-en-Condroz (Neupré). It is possible that they also took an unknown American from Kampen, because the empty grave 8 on Plot 7 and the empty grave no.1 on Plot 10 are suspicious. The man could have been identified in Neuville or not. This needs further research. Today, only Lt. Wylie rests in Ardennes. The others were reburied in the USA in the 1950-repatriation progam. Photo below, Plot 10. Three Americans from B-24  42-95180 lay on this side of the two RAF airmen.
   























































KAMPEN. UNIQUE FEATURE ON THE HEADSTONES OF THE 'KNOWN UNTO GOD'

During and after the war, the people here knew this was a 'maritime' cemetery for 12 washed ashore airmen from the lake. Many knew exactly the spot were a particular airman was found at the dike, or the day a body was brought-in by a boat. Everybody knew that some had laid in the water for months, crashed far away in sea, and that the date on the wooden gravemarker was not their date of death, but the date they washed ashore or were buried.

Today, this knowlegde is almost gone. Most visitors here have no idea how the Allied military on this cemetery got here. Normally the sterile white CWGC headstones do not reveal much information either. But there is something here that still links these 5 unidentified airmen here to the water of the Zuyder Zee: on the headstones is the date preceded by the word 'Buried'. This is unique and we have not seen it anywere else around the lake. It is as somebody wanted to make clear for future generations, within the limited text-possibilities of the CWGC-headstone, that: "these men are from the water and buried on this day. For their story and identity, seek in the months before".





































Above photo shows graves no. 12, 13 and 16.
 









































There is a third plot with war graves on this cemetery. This plot is in the IJsselmuiden section. 


         

IJSSELMUIDEN GENERAL CEMETERY
100 meters to the South on this cemetery is the IJsselmuiden section (IJsselmuiden General Cemetery). Here rest the crew of Lancaster PA986, crashed nearby on land (Mastenbroekerpolder) 13 June 1944 (Pilot P/O A. Williams). Sgt. Wallinger was first buried as unknown and Sgt. Gribben was recovered from the crashsite in 1987.


























IJsselmuiden Grafhorst Cemetery:  http://www.zzairwar.nl/dossiers/934.html


Sources:

- Old newspaper articles
- Dutch police reports
- MACR
- site ABMC
- site CWGC
- Mr. Hans Hollestelle





© ZZairwar (Zuyder Zee Air War).