Crash Short Stirling LK209 MA-T 23 march 1945
Welcome, You are at coordinates N 53º 16' 21.6'', E 4º 58' 50.5''
You are standing at a small monument on the island Vlieland. Popularly known as the „Monument Bomenland”.
This humble monument was unveiled there at the end of May 2005, 60 years after the liberation of Vlieland (Vlieland was officially liberated on 31 May 1945) by former war pilot Jan Linzel, Major (ret.) RNLAF and former Commander of the RNLAF Detachment Vlieland.
The monument was erected in memory of the crew of the Short Stirling LK209 MA-T that crashed in Bomenland in the early morning hours of 23 March 1945 after being hit by German anti-aircraft guns from the East Battery on Vlieland.
The aircraft was part of 161 (Special Duties) Squadron of the RAF, a top secret
unit of the Royal Air Force, which flew missions into German occupied Europe
during World War II.
Their main task was to drop secret agents and weapons, ammunition and
equipment for the resistance. They operated from Tempsford Airfield (Gibraltar
Farm), the base for some of the most secret squadrons of World War II.
The Stirling Mk. IV LK209 MA-T with as crew pilot Lt Alan Aitken (175821), navigator P/O Ronald Caston (187018), flight engineer Sgt William Horrocks (2210899), air gunner F/Sgt Alexander Paton (1573936), bomb aimer P/O William Shaw (196054), radio operator P/O Reginald Swift (196053) and tail gunner Sgt Joseph White had taken off from the airfield at around 23:30 hrs on Thursday 22nd March together with 3 other Short Stirlings. The 4 aircraft all had different destinations.
The LK209 MA-T was to drop 24 containers and 4 packages (approx. 10,000 lbs) for the resistance that night, in the area of Breukelen, near Amsterdam (Codename: Operation Rowing 3).
From the story of tail gunner Joe White, who was the only survivor of the crash, we know the following:
Alan and his crew left Tempsford on Thursday 22 March 1945 at 23:30 hrs with a full load of supplies (approx. 10,000 lbs) for a rendezvous in the Netherlands. The aircraft flew over the island of Vlieland towards the mainland, but made landfall at the wrong point. They turned back out to sea, passed the island on the same route, then changed course and approached the mainland again at a different point - but still not the right point. On returning over the island for the fourth time they were met with heavy fire from light anti-aircraft guns which knocked out both port engines and set the wing on fire.
The aircraft turned out to sea and was immediately riddled again, leaving the pilot with no choice but to make a forced landing on land. The altitude at which the aircraft was flying when hit by anti-aircraft guns was just under 1,000 feet and with two engines out of action it was impossible to maintain altitude.
The pilot called for the crew to take up emergency positions but as far as tail gunner White was aware he was the only member of the crew to respond. The aircraft then made a rough belly landing on sand, breaking into three or four pieces.
White struggled out of the aircraft. He suffered a broken collarbone and a severe gash on his forehead. He discovered that pilot Alan Aitken had opened his escape hatch in his cockpit and was lying unconscious over the edge of the hatch, having managed to wrestle himself out of his seat. The wing was still burning and there was a good chance that the machine would explode at any moment, as there were large quantities of ammunition in the cargo.
Remembrance Day
Since 2020, a remembrance moment has been held at the monument by the island school De Jutter on Vlieland. On 23 March, a delegation of primary school pupils, teaching staff and parents will go to Bomenland to commemorate the crash and bring a floral greeting at the monument.
After the events have been explained to those present, a minute of silence is observed. Then the flowers are laid and everyone goes to the place where the aircraft actually crashed, about 50 yards away.
Here, the children can still find pieces of metal from the Stirling LK209 MA-T that fell into the ground during the crash on 23 March 1945 and that regularly resurface. In this way, this piece of war history becomes very tangible for the youth of Vlieland.
White dragged Alan out of the plane and dragged him far enough away to be out of danger from any explosion. Aitken, who was unconscious, had suffered a severe head injury and had lost a lot of blood. As far as White could tell, however, he had not been hit by the anti-aircraft fire.
He returned to the plane and made every effort to contact the other crew members, but to no avail. He then fled the crash site and walked across the island to the nearest house, the Posthuys, where the residents immediately did what they could for him and offered to hide him.
He did not want to accept their offer, knowing that he would only cause them trouble. And so the Germans caught him an hour and a half later. They took him back to the plane and made him stand about twenty yards away among armed guards watching the fire. He was not allowed to speak to Alan or even approach him. None of the enemy personnel approached or interfered with the aircraft, as the underbody panels had been torn on landing and the containers of supplies were exposed, leading the enemy to believe that the aircraft was carrying landmines and they were all afraid of being blown up. As far as White was aware, the aircraft was allowed to burn out, but up to the time he was taken away there had been no explosion.
They took Alan to a small military infirmary on the island and after the enemy were convinced that White would not answer their questions about the contents of the aircraft or the whereabouts of the other crew, they marched him off to the infirmary.
The medical treatment they received was of the most meagre kind, his shoulder being roughly bandaged by medical orderlies, as there seemed to be no doctors available. In the morning of 23 March they were both taken to a hospital on the Dutch mainland and within three hours of their arrival White was on his way to a POW camp.
Before he left, the Germans informed him that his pilot had died of his wounds. White gave them full details of Alan's rank and name, so that there was little chance of misidentification. Not a word was said about the other members of the crew and, according to White, they had all been killed either by anti-aircraft fire or in the crash. If they had jumped and landed on the island, the Germans would have picked them up within half an hour, as the island is not that large.
He also believes that if Alan had been secured to his seat, as he normally would have been during the landing operation, he would still be alive, and there is no doubt that the injuries to his face and head were caused by being thrown against the instrument panel or similar when the aircraft hit the ground. It is the engineer's job to secure his pilot to his seat, as a pilot cannot do this himself. However, he can operate the automatic release if the situation requires it. In White's opinion this therefore confirms the fact that the rest of the crew was put out of action as a result of the shelling before the aircraft landed on the sand.
Pilot Alan Aitken was buried in the cemetery in Harlingen. P/O Ronald Caston, Sgt William Horrocks, F/Sgt Alexander Paton, P/O William Shaw and P/O Reginald Swift were buried by the Germans in the cemetery of Vlieland on 26 March around 15.00 hrs.
Standing from left to right William Horrocks, Alexander R. Paton, Ronald A. Caston en William L. Shaw.
Sitting from left to right Reginald A. Swift, Allan H. Aitken en Joe White.
