Date of death:

May 12th, 1944 (the Netherlands)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Graves Aardenburg
Grave: 1-7.

Service number:

151118

Nationality:

British (1801-present, Kingdom)

Derek Warren was the son of James William and Amelia Warren, of Chadwell Heath, Essex, England. He served as Flight Lieutenant (Pilot), with No. 75 Squadron, RAF.

On May 12th 1944 a raid over Leuven was flown by the British 'Bomber Command' to bomb the crossroads around Leuven. During this mission with 126 Lancasters and 6 Mosquito's, four Lancasters got lost. Of these four Lancasters, the first one was shot down in Holland on the way to Leuven, all these crewmembers are buried on this cemetery in Aardenburg. The next two of these Lancasters crashed in Wilsele, probably due a mid-air collision between the two Lancasters. There were no survivors, these crewmembers are buried on the churchyard of Wilsele. The Fourth Lancaster crashed in Leuven, the crewmembers of this Lancaster are buried the communal cemetery of Leuven.

"My family were next door neighbours to Derek and his family for many years and I have many vivid memories of him. He was a much loved only child who was shot down at only 20 years of age. Derek was engaged to be married - I can clearly remember my father putting his signature to the consent form as Derek was under 21- and arrangements were in place for the wedding on his return." - Pamela Simpson

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• Photo 2: Mia van den Berg
• - MIDDLEBROOK, M. & EVERITT, C., The Bomber Command War Diaries, Midland Publishing, 2011.
  - W.R. CHORLEY, RAF Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, 1944, Ian Allan Publishing, 1997.
  - Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  - Forces War Records
  

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