IN MEMORy by Pierre Vandervelden

The visit of Commonwealth graves in Communals Cemeteries & Churchyards in Belgium & France

LEOPOLDSBURG War Cemetery (Limburg Belgium)

Page 1 The Pictures

Page 2 List of Casualties

Fl/Lt Noel Curtis Tatam 18/12/1944 aged 26 for his daughter Ceril Hatfield	Sgt Esmond Nicholson 18/12/1944 aged 23 Buried in Clichy Nothern Cemetery (Fr)
P/O William Hewison Leese aged 20 for his niece Roma Davies	F/O Geoffrey Deller Body commemorated on the Royal Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede for his nephew David Body
Part of crew of the Halifax Mk.111 serial LV818
Fosse American cemetery, where four members of the crew were buried before to be removed here (3) and in Clichy (1)
Sgt William Ernest Mawson for his niece Hazel Syme	Sgt Kenneth Forshaw Matthews for his brother Wycliffe Matthews
F/O Douglas John Mole aged 29 buried in Taillette Communal Cemetery for his son David Mole	F/O John Henry Waldron 18/12/1944 aged 28 buried in Taillette Communal Cemetery For John's niece and nephews Rachel, Paul and Malcolm Balen
Compiled by David Mole

F/O Bernard Mark Twilley aged 24	F/Sgt Hugh Brenton Jones aged 18 for his sister Rea Camus
W/O Harold William John Hildebrand aged 24	Sgt Roy Challinor Hitchen aged 20
F/O Carl Winston Cassini aged 22	F/O Edgar Harold Baron aged 22
Sgt Richard Holden aged 27
F/Sgt Roberts Hall aged 23 (no picture allowed)
The crew of the Halifax Mk.111 serial NP934 who crashed in the night of 17-18/12/1944 into a wood in Montignies, South of Charleroi (Hainaut), Belgium. F/S Jones was amongst the youngest airmen killed on Bomber Command operations in 1944. for David Mole

A part of the crew of the Halifax Mk VII serial NP699 crashed 18/12/1944. L. to R.: S. E. Zadorozny - A. G-W. Blayney - M. Krakovsky - J. W. Green - G. D. Wilson
L. to R.: M. Krakovsky - R. L. Cann - G. D. Wilson - A. G-W. Blayney - S. E. Zadorozny - J. W. Green - M. J. Boylan
P/O Michael Joseph Boylan aged 19 (buried here) for his brother Anthony Boylan	P/o Alfred Goodman-Wells Blayney aged 27 (Buried here) for his grand daughter Mrs Roger Pothier
P/O James William Green aged 20 Commemorated in Runnemyde Memorial (UK)	P/o Stanley Ernest Zadorozny aged 21 Buried in Choloy War Cemetery (Fr.)
F/O Robert Leslie Cann aged 22 Buried in Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery (Fr.) for his niece Judy Buller	F/O Gordon Douglas Wilson aged 22 Buried in Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery (Fr.) for his nephew Gordon Wilson junior
F/O Max Krakovsky for his daughter Judi Kauffman Max survived the crash and became a friend of David Mole

Crew of the Halifax NR118 18/12/1944 Back, L. to R.: S. H. Pierce - J. M. Parrott - H. Brown - A. E. Kurtzhals - L. H. Janzen - A. Divitcoff - G. W. Olafsen
L. to R.: J. M. Parrott - S. H. Pierce - A. E. Kurtzhals - H. Brown - L. H. Janzen - G. W. Olafsen - A. Divitcoff
Ammeter recovered from the wreckage (From the collection of Hector Maurage, Belgian friend of David Mole)
Remembrance Monument in Pesche, place of the crash
P/O Herbert Brown who survived	David Mole at the inauguration of the monument
F/S Alexander Divitcoff aged 21 for his sister Margaret McDonald
P/O Allan Edward Kurtzhals aged 24 for his niece Dale Plante
Paintings commissioned by David Mole
P/O Leslie Homer Janzen aged 24	W/O Class II Gordon William Olafsen aged 22
F/O Samuel Henry Pearce aged 28 for his relative Leslie Green	F/L James Murray Parrott
For David mole

F/O Vernon Beverley Gilson 02/11/1944 aged 22 for his great nephew Simon Jeffs

Major Edwin Swales VC DFC 23/02/1945 aged 29 Edwin was born in Durban, SAF, where he was educated and lived. He he first served in the army with the Natal Mounted Rifles before transferring to the SAAF. He was the only member of the SAAF ever to win the VC, the last member of Bomber Command, the last member of the Pathfinder Force and the last airman serving in Europe to be so honoured, but more importantly he was the last South African to win the VC. For Paul Kilmartin

Pte Cyril George Greaves 19/09/1944 for his nephew Lee Greaves

Sjt William Ernest Mc Meakin 05/10/1944 aged 29 Bill was in the 1/4 Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry reconnaissance unit part of the 49th West Riding Division. On the 05/10/1944 he and two young privates, Arthur Noble and Michael Halliday were sent out on patrol to make contact with the enemy and report back as to the enemy position. While crossing a field near the small town of Goirle they had the misfortune to hit a large landmine and were killed instantly. They were not buried in Goirle but by a local farmer called Kraaijenbrink in the quarter called Roovert. They were later moved to Leopoldsburg. Their names are on the war memorial in Poppel, which is attached to the church. Bill's name is spelt wrongly, MacMeakin instead McMeakin. He fought through the worst of the fighting during his 4 months in Europe since landing on Gold beach in Normandy. for his daughter Pat and Fred Kirkham

L/Cpl George Derries 18/11/1944 aged 29 He was a dispatch rider and drove over a land mine. for his niece Margaret McCutcheon (nee Derries)

Tpr James Rothwell 06/09/1944 aged 30 He was from Pendlebury, Manchester and left a widow and two children. James was called up in 06/1940. He was with the 44 RTR during WW2, served throughout N. Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy and was killed near Belgium. It seems he was hit by a sniper. for his great great nephew Richard Fouracre

Sgt Lezslie Peckett 01/01/1945 aged 21 for his niece Sara Edge

751 casualties

IF You have a casualty picture, please send me a copy, I'll be glad to show it on this page.

IF You want a king size copy of this picture (300/900 ko - 2592/1944 pixels) please e-mail me.

IF You want picture of a particular grave, in this cemetery, please e-mail me.

Casualties informations come usualy from Commonwealth War Graves Commission, see links for more informations

Inmemories.com © Pierre Vandervelden - Belgium