Crash Site Short Stirling EF330 OJ-P

On March 12, 1943, at 9:19 p.m., the Royal Air Force's Short Stirling EF330 crashed at the site of this monument. A few hours earlier, the aircraft had taken off from RAF Lakenheath on a mission to Essen to bomb the Krupp factories there. On its return journey, the Stirling was shot down over the Achterhoek region by Hauptmann Wilhelm Dormann of the 3rd Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1. The aircraft crashed onto the farm of the Giezen family, killing not only the eight crew members but also father Giezen and two of his sons.

It was by chance that there was an eighth crew member on board. Normally, the crew of a Stirling consisted of seven people, but on this flight, Sergeant Victor Page was flying along to gain experience as a co-pilot. It was only his third operational flight.

The crew consisted of:
Pilot: Flight Sergeant Fred Alwyn Pearson RAFVR
2nd Pilot: Sergeant Victor Page RAF
Flight Engineer: Sergeant Jack Misseldine RAF 573564
Observer: Flight Sergeant Phillip Holmes Skinner RNZAF
Navigator: Flying Officer Greaton Wesley Sellers RCAF
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner: Sergeant William Hugh Clayton RAFVR
Mid-Upper Gunner: Pilot Officer Lionel Hubert Rogers Binning RAFVR
Rear Gunner: Warrant Officer George William Miller RCAF

They are buried next to the Giezen family in the cemetery in Beek.

The monument was erected on September 27, 2025, and depicts a wing of a Short Stirling cut out of Corten steel. The contours of the Giezen family farm can be seen in the steel.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Hennie Freriks
• - https://www.berghapedia.nl/index.php/Short_Stirling_EF330