Lancastermonument 'De Berken'

A monument in memory of the seven crew members who lost their lives on 23 April 1944 when their Lancaster aircraft crashed.  

- Sergeant Alexander SHIELS, upper turret gunner, aged 21, from Auchinloch (Lanarkshire)
- Officer Lawrence SMITH, bomb aimer/nose turret gunner, aged 21, from Westmeath (Ontario, Canada)
- Sergeant Alexander McJANNETT, radio operator, married, aged 21, of Wigston Magna (Leicestershire)
- Officer Alfred McKAY, navigator, aged 21, from Knockando (Morayshire)
- Sergeant Roy LAYBOURNE, flight engineer, aged 21, from Worsley (Lancashire)
- Sergeant Harold DYERSON, tail gunner, aged 32, from Plaistow (Essex) . 
- Officer George NICHOLLS, pilot, married, aged 32, from Heamoor, Penzance (Cornwall)

On the night of 26/27 April 1944, Lancaster ND 873 from the 12th Squadron of RAF Wickenby took off on a bombing mission to Essen in the Ruhr area. Almost 500 aircraft took part in this attack, including 342 Lancasters.

On the way back, the aircraft was shot down by a German Messerschmitt and crashed in flames into the Astense Aa in “De Berken”. All seven crew members were killed. They are now buried at the Jonkerbos British Cemetery in Nijmegen.

The monument was erected in 2006 and is located on the footpath along the Astense Aa in the “De Berken” nature reserve. The monument was designed by Jan Berkers (1934) and consists of a memorial stone bearing the names of the crew members. A wheel from the aircraft that was found there has been incorporated into the monument.