Son of WW2 navigator marks 80th anniversary of plane crash

One man whose father was killed in World War Two stated that it was a privilege to meet the descendants of the Dutch woman who believed he was hiding.

Son of WW2 navigator marks 80th anniversary of plane crash

One man whose father was killed in World War Two stated that it was a privilege to meet the descendants of the Dutch woman who believed he was hiding.

Three of the eight crew were killed when Alan Green's Stirling bomber crashed into the Netherlands on the 21 June 1942.

Before he was captured by Germans, locals kept the flight navigator hidden.

Stuart Green, a Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire resident, met Marijte Van Schagen's family 21 June on the 80th anniversary.

Flt Lt Alan Green was originally from Coventry and joined the RAF in 40. He was based at RAF Marham, near King's Lynn.

Stuart Green, an aviation lecturer, said that the plane crashed at Wadway near Spierdijk, where Marijte, sixty, lived.

Louis Wester, her great-grandson, says that she ran a safe place for people who were hiding from the Germans.

Mr Green stated that he received an email from Louis a few months back indicating that the airman she had sheltered on 22 Juni was either my father, or one of the other survivors of the crash.

His father, who died when Mr Green turned 12 years old, described how his father protected him before he was captured and spent the rest of WW2 as a prisoner.

Marijte was thanked by Arthur Tedder, RAF Air Marshal and US Gen Dwight Eisenhower for her assistance in the liberation of the Netherlands.

Mr Green stated that it was a "privilege" for him to meet Mr Wester's daughter Maria, "descendants to the woman who gave her life to save downed pilots" - at the crash-site memorial.

The local branch of National 4 and 5 May Committee hosted the event, which commemorates the liberation in the Netherlands.

Mr Green stated that he felt a deep connection with the small community. It's incredible how these experiences can be shared between generations and across borders.

He also paid respects to Harold Ashworth, Stirling's pilot, and William Watt, 19-year-old gunner, and Billy Whitehead (22-year-old gunner and radio operator) at Bergen Cemetery's Commonwealth War Graves section, where they are buried.

He said, "I felt that I should go really - particularly for Ashworth, who kept it flying long enough for men to bail out."

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