The Belgians Remember Them Patriotic Association Newsletter n° 2 Issue: June 2021 Editorial Dear Members and Friends, We are already in the middle of June of this year and still troubled by the pandemic, but it seems to be slowly fading away. With the help of the vaccine, the holidays should go without incident and we hope that this virus will slowly but surely die out. Let us remember that on Wednesday, September 29, the solemn commemoration will be held at the Rebecq Memorial. His Majesty the King of Belgium will honour us by being represented at this important commemoration. We have also invited the ambassadors of those nations whose nationals were involved in the plane crashes on Belgian soil, namely the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Poland, Holland, France, the Czech Republic, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the United States and Rhodesia. To these 14 countries we have added Russia, whose soldiers actively participated in the rescue of survivors of aircraft shot down over Belgium. Let us hope that this “G15” Act of Remembrance, to which you are invited, will take place under the most favourable conditions. The Air Defense is promising us the participation of a military band and an honour guard. For our part, we also expect pupils from the Rebecq schools to be present. The Newsletter you are now going to read contains a variety of articles which should be of interest to you. In it, we report the results of our investigations into 2 aircraft crashes: one at Lovendegem, near Waarschoot (East Flanders) in 1940, the other at Wauthier-Braine (Walloon Brabant) in 1945. In both cases, careful research has been carried out to find out all the facts that led to these accidents in which the young Airmen involved paid with their lives. Thierry Cardon tells us about the exploits of the Belgian André Cantillon, a Belgian pilot who distinguished himself aboard his Spitfire, having joined the Royal Air Force. We do not forget the Resistance either: a memorial service for the Soviet Armed Partisans in Belgium took place on May 9 in the presence of the Russian Ambassador and we announce the title of National Necropolis given to the “the execution by firing squad plot of land” (Clos des Fusillés) where many Resistance fighters were murdered by the occupying forces both in 1914-1918 and in 1940-1945. We consider what we should do about the existence in our country of a monument dedicated to individuals who committed war crimes alongside the Waffen SS – a real moral dilemma. Finally, we had the honour of being represented by one of our members, David Cole, at Hunterville’s Cenotaph during the Commemorations on April 25, Anzac Day, in New Zealand. Wilfred Burie, President 1 The crash of the Lancaster HK620 LS-W in Wauthier-Braine on 9 February 1945 Foreword Recently, Georges Detournay, a resident of Waterloo, told us of his interest in the crash of a Lancaster in Wauthier-Braine, where he spent his youth. In 1980, he went to the crash site. He gave us pictures taken at the time, pictures which we provide you with today. In addition to these unpublished documents, we share with you the results of our investigation into the alleged presence of a ninth man in the crew of the Lancaster HK620. We thank Georges Detournay for his contribution to the history we uphold. On February 8, 1945, the Royal Air Force 15 Squadron prepared about 15 of its planes for a mission aimed at the important Hohenbudberg railway complex in the Ruhr in Germany. Although Belgium had been liberated for six months, Germany was still under the domination of the Nazi regime. Bomber Command coordinated this mission in which other squadrons, including 151 Lancaster, were involved. The target was 350 km away from 15 Squadron base in England at Mildenhall, Suffolk. The planes took off at 03:00 in the morning and reached the drop zone without incident. As a result of the Allies landing on the continent, Nazi Germany’s war resources had diminished considerably. The advance of the liberating troops since August 1944 had driven the occupying forces out of France, Belgium and Holland and had penetrated the Third Reich territory. Although the von Rundstedt offensive in the Ardennes during the winter of ‘44 had delayed the invasion of Germany somewhat, progress was now being made effectively in spite of dogged resistance from the Wehrmacht and what remained of the Luftwaffe. An anti-aircraft post had been set up on the railway site to be bombed. Although not a major post, its guns were accurate and effective. The weather was clear, although it was still dark and, apart from a few clouds, the target was clearly visible to the «bombers», those airmen responsible for dropping the bombs. When they hit the ground these bombs damaged the rail-head and, among other things, caused seven major fires. After dropping their bombs, the aircraft regained altitude and flew West to return to base. For some time now, these airmen had no longer feared attacks from German fighters, since the enemy air force had lost almost all of its aircraft and pilots. But when flying over Holland, the Lancaster HK620-LS-W belonging to the 15 Squadron was hit by fire from a German DCA. 2 Not much is known about what happened on board at that time, but it seems that the aircraft was turning south and heading for Namur and Nivelles. Witnesses living in Wauthier-Braine claimed to have seen a large aircraft on fire and in a slow descent heading towards Count Oultremont’s property, where its flight ended in a mighty crash. The plane crashed in the «Bois du Haumont», owned by the Count. We can assume that, when the aircraft was hit by DCA fire, the flight controls were so damaged that the pilot was forced to perform unusual manoeuvres to keep the aircraft in flight while maintaining direction. This probably explains the unusual route the aircraft took to reach the Belgian coast. Members of the crew may have been injured or even killed by anti-aircraft fire. If that was the case, there must have been a mixture of turmoil and panic on board. The fact that the German fighter squadron had not been operational for some time due to a lack of planes and pilots allowed the Lancaster to continue its flight in very difficult conditions. The pilot could surely have landed safely during his return flight. The airmen could have parachuted The Haumont wood, near Wauthier-Braine when it was safe to do so. Perhaps he thought he could still fly his aircraft back to England? All these questions will remain forever unanswered. The Lancaster was running out of power. The controls were not responding. It plunged inexorably towards the ground. Before hitting it, the aircraft made contact with treetops in Haumont wood, tearing off branches as it passed. Stronger branches broke off parts of the wings while the fuselage broke in two scattering debris over a wide area. The heavier parts, such as the engines and the wheel sets, suddenly separated from what was left of the plane, plunged into the swampy ground there and sank deep into the ground. The rear part of the fuselage and the turret where the body of the gunner lay slumped over his weapon suffered less damage. Rescuers quickly arrived at the scene of the tragedy and quickly realised that there were no survivors. British soldiers also arrived on the scene to promptly establish the reasons for the crash and to identify the victims. The aircraft’s registration allowed them to identify the crew. There were eight men on board, but they did not recover the body of one of the crew members - Sergeant Alan Dodson, the wireless operator. The bodies and personal effects of the victims were gathered up and were taken at once to Evere, the location of the cemetery in which British soldiers were buried. They were buried next to each other. At this point, a problem became apparent. Another name, that of Lieutenant Airman Alastair McQueen, was added to the list of the remains of the crew received that day by the funeral attendants. The wreck of the Lancaster, shortly after the crash, object of the curiosity of the residents This meant that there were 9 crew members on board the fallen HK620-LS-W at Wauthier-Braine, which is not possible because the maximum number of people a Lancaster could carry was 8. For years, it was believed that a second Pilot was added to the crew, but that assumption was not confirmed by any official document. What really happened? 3 It is safe to assume that there was a certain amount of confusoin at the Evere cemetery when the 7 bodies were brought from Wauthier-Braine. It is likely that Lieutenant McQueen’s body arrived at the same time and that the person responsible for allocating burial sites automatically added him in with the other seven. They were buried in the same row of graves, No. 28. The wreckage of the high cabin perched in 1980 testifies to the drama that occurred in this wood. Above, some parts of the plane and the wing piece bearing the roundel of the RAF at the Ramskapelle Museum 4 In fact, Alastair McQueen was an Auster reconnaissance plane pilot based temporarily in Eindhoven, Holland and part of 2 Squadron. He went on a combat mission on 9 February 1945, the objective being Krefeld in Germany and his plane crashed in Beuningen, not far from Nijmegen, for a reason that has not been clearly explained.