70 Years Ago

Almost 70 years ago, in the night 16 - 17 April 1943 the Stirling of Pilot K. F. Debenham from New Zealand crashed here.
In August 1997 the remains of the aircraft were excavated and since the excavation this little hill is now there, only a few minutes from where I live.
I remember the excavation.

Only the copilot survived the crash. The crew:
Pilot: Kevin F. Debenham, RNZAF +
Copilot: D. Wainwright, RAF
Navigator: Raymond J. Barnes, RCAF +
Air gunner: John L. Marlow, RAF +
Air gunner: Jim J. Davis, RAF +
Today they lie buried in the British military cemetery at Rheinberg near Kleve.

Excavations to find missing fliers of WW II as well as plane wreckage in the Saarland and its neighboring areas, but also - beyond that - nationwide, are primarily performed by the Search Group for the Missing led by Uwe and Martina Benkel.

Interested in more information?
More on the above excavation 1997

Crashes in my area

Video of similar excavations by Uwe Benkel (has been on TV last month)

Homepage of the search group

I don't know how many times I've blipped this hill in the last 3 years, a bit afraid of publishing it. For some reason it seemed right to do it today along with the farmer on a grey and cold April day almost 70 years after the crash.

16:50 CEST 4,8°C