Monument Halifax W7775 NF-R

This monument near Burgemeester van Wijngaardenweg 11 in IJhorst, part of the municipality of Staphorst, commemorates six British airmen whose Halifax (W7775 NF-R) was shot down by the Germans here on 3 December 1942. They were dropping weapons for the Dutch resistance. It is suspected that the aircraft had been ambushed by the Germans. Two crew members survived the crash and returned to the UK in September 1944 as part of an exchange of POWs. The names of the six crew members who died and were buried in IJhorst cemetery are as follows:

F/O G.F.B. Newport Tinley 20 yr.
Sgt. B.M. Pick 21 yr.
Sgt. B.S. Nixon 31 yrs.
Wo. C.A. Howard 25 yr.
Sgt. H.C. Taylor 23 yr.
Sgt. C.C. Hayes 21 yr.

Survivor William Bloxham wrote a book about the mission and subsequent captivity, entitled The Long Haul.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Natasha Gerson
• BLOXHAM, W., The Long Haul, Woodfield Publishing, 2008.