The Lancaster Monument Elspeet commemorates the seven crew members of Avro Lancaster Mk III JB609 PH-F who were killed when their bomber crashed near the Schaarweg in Elspeet on 20 February 1944 during World War II.
The aircraft belonged to No. 12 Squadron RAF and was returning from a bombing mission over Leipzig, Germany. Near Apeldoorn, the Lancaster was shot down in the night of 19 to 20 Februari at 05:34 by a German night figther and crashed in a meadow near Elspeet. None of the seven crew members survived. The memorial was unveiled on 19 April 2008. It consists of a polished memorial stone featuring the British and Canadian flags, the Royal Air Force emblem, and an image of the Lancaster Mk III JB609. Around the monument are seven smaller stones representing the seven fallen airmen.
The crew members remembered at the monument are:
Flight Sgt. N.C. Bowker – Pilot
Sgt. F.W. Burdett – Flight Engineer
Flight Sgt. A.L. Corlett – Navigator
Sgt. E. Gedge – Air Bomber
Sgt. E.S. Goodridge – Air Gunner
Pilot Officer J. May – Air Gunner
Sgt. H.G. Williams – Wireless Operator
The airmen are buried at Harderwijk General Cemetery in the Netherlands.
Avro Lancaster Mk III with serial number JB609 and squadron code PH-F was a British heavy bomber used during World War II. The aircraft belonged to No. 12 Squadron RAF of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. The Lancaster Mk III was one of the most famous Allied bombers of the war and was mainly used for nighttime bombing missions over occupied Europe and Germany. Aircraft from No. 12 Squadron operated from airbases in England and took part in strategic bombing campaigns against industrial and military targets.
The code PH-F consisted of:
PH = the squadron code for No. 12 Squadron RAF
F = the individual aircraft letter within the squadron
Many Lancaster crews faced extreme danger from German anti-aircraft fire, night fighters, and poor weather conditions during bombing raids. Losses within RAF Bomber Command were very high throughout the conflict.
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The memorial can be visited 24 hours a day.
