|
|
|
|
#1
12-01-10, 13:07
|
|||
|
|||
Death of Johannes Blok and Erick Hendrik den Hollander in N Ireland
FAO Hanno Spoelstra
While browsing the web for information on Erick Hendrik den Hollander, I came across your postings on the MLU forum amd was quite surprised to find that Johannes Blok was your Grandfather's youngest brother. I had been aware of Johannes untimely death when I was researching information about Erick Hendrik den Hollander. As you know Johannes Blok and Erick H den Hollander were both pilots with FAA Sqn 1847 in WW2 and both lost their lives in flying accidents in N Ireland. Erik H den Hollander died when he crashed into my Grandfather's farm at Loughmagarry in N Ireland around 10.30am on 28 April 1944. Having listened to my father talk about this accident over the years has inspired me to learn more about Erick H den Hollander, his life and friends in the FAA and the den Hollander family; I thought that it might be possible Johannes may have made mention of Erick Hendrik in letters he posted home. I do not know if Erick Hendrik was married but I suspect not as he was only 21 years old when he died - but then in the war years - who knows? I believe around 1942, and in the ensuing years, many Dutch people made their way to either Australia or Canada - and I would be very grateful if you would share with me any information you might have about the FAA or the den Hollander family or what might have become of them after the war? I found the photo of the 1847 squadron on the 'maple up' website and unfortunately, for whatever reason, EH den Hollander was not included in it - I do however, have a head and shoulders picture of him. Marbeth 
|
|
#2
13-01-10, 10:09
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Welcome to this forum and thanks for joining us! Very good to hear about your interest in Erik den Hollander. Many years ago when we visited the crash site of Blok and De Ridder, the farmer in who's field they crashed could give us an eyewitness account. This type of information is vital and is valued very much by relatives. If you can, please post the details about Erik's accident here. I do not have information about Erik den Hollander at hand, and will have to ask the keeper of the Johannes' files if any reference is made to him. If I find anything I will post it here or contact you through the forum. No doubt these men knew each other, as the squadron was a relatively small unit and the Dutchmen were all a long way from home. If you can, please post Erik's picture, as it is always great to put a face to a name. All for now, thanks & best regards, Hanno
__________________
Regards, Hanno --------------------------
|
|
#3
15-01-10, 00:16
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
It would be wonderful to find reference to Erick Hendrik den Hollander in Johannes Blok's files. I will keep my fingers crossed that you might find something. In the meantime, I have summarised the events of Friday, 28 April 1944 when Erick Hendrik den Hollander crashed into my Grandfather’s farm. The information outlined below was supplied to me by my father, James McCarroll, and his friend Sam Gaston who was an eye-witness to the crash. I do not seem to be able to post Erick's picture - I may need my son's help with this when he next pays me a visit - but between us, we will manage it eventually. HollanderEHden28-4-1944[2].jpg On Friday 28 April 1944, my Grandmother, Lizzie McCarroll, and two of her children, Tommy (16) and Jean (15), were going about their normal duties on the family farm at Loughmagarry in N. Ireland. As it was market day, my Grandfather, Robert, was not at home. Their eldest son James (17) - who was later to become my father - was at work in HM Vitualling Depot in Dromona, approximately 4 miles away. My father worked in a clerical capacity. It was a beautiful morning with clear blue skies. Around 10.30am, however, this peaceful scene was shattered, when my Grandmother and her two children heard the roar of an aircraft, looked up, and were stunned in horror as a plane plummeted towards them. They had a lucky escape; the plane narrowly missed their house and crashed into their cornfield on the other side of the road. My father, who had been at work, heard the crash take place, although he had no idea that that was what he had heard at the time. He recognised the sound of aircraft flying overhead; he thought there was more than one aeroplane, flying in convoy. This was a regular occurrence at that time. Suddenly, he heard two high pitched, short, sharp whines - one immediately after the other. He knew that this noise came from an aircraft in trouble. Then there was silence. Although he was inside a large building and couldn’t see outside, he was acutely aware that something had happened. Around 11.00am, the staff supplies van returned from Ballymena and the driver and helper confirmed that an aeroplane had indeed crashed. They had followed the cloud of smoke rising from the ground and, by their description of the crash site, my father knew it was very close to his home. He got permission to leave work and cycled home as fast as possible. When he arrived, the scene before him looked like a war zone, it appeared to him like ammunition was exploding everywhere and plumes of smoke were still rising from the wreckage strewn over the road and adjacent fields. A policeman stopped him, telling him he couldn’t go any further. My father explained he had to get through, as he lived in the farmhouse beside the crash and was worried about his family. The policeman told him to leave his bicycle and to keep as close as possible to the hedge running alongside the edge of the potato field on the other side of the road from the crash. When he got home he was relieved to find that his family was safe, albeit in shock, as they thought the aircraft was going to land on top of them - its undercarriage and axle landed on top of the hay-shed roof, a mere 20 feet away. The Ballymena Fire Brigade arrived and used water from the well on the farm but this quickly ran out. People were running with buckets of water trying to put out fires and shortly after that, Air Force personnel arrived and cordoned off the crash area. Within a short time, the American Fire Brigade arrived and it was believed they came from Toome, where they were stationed. They sprayed the fires with water and foam. The pilot's badly burned body was located in the field behind the house. Aircraft personnel wrapped his remains in his parachute which was spread out in the field. They managed to retrieve the pilot’s wallet from the breast pocket of his badly burned flying jacket. It took days for Air Force personnel to dig out the remains of the plane which was deeply embedded into the ground and to remove the wreckage from the surrounding area. As previously stated, I would be indebted to anyone who could supply me with information relating to the pilot, Erick Hendrik den Hollander who was born in Bandoeng in Java, NEI, on 29/9/1922 or the den Hollander family. EH den Hollander was laid to rest in St Canice's Churchyard, Eglinton, N Ireland. Marbeth
|
|
#4
30-01-10, 16:35
|
|||
|
|||
|
Marbeth,
Do you know if EH den Hollander had his training at Jackson Army Air Base? This a a photo from some of the pilots in advanced (fighter) training in 1943 at Jackson Army Air Base. Amongst many others, the pilots J. Blok, F.C.M. Brogtrop, H.C. de Jager, K.A. la Bree, J.Schwencke and R.R. Twijssel had their training there also. Source: Book "Royal Netherlands Military Flying-School" by 1st Lt. R. van der Laan, 1943. Marco
__________________
Staghound F215633, 12th Troop "Sergeants Car" XII Manitoba Dragoons
|
|
#6
30-01-10, 17:59
|
|||
|
|||
|
Officier-vlieger J. Blok
Marco
Thank you for your reply. I do not know where EH den Hollander had his training but it is very likely it was at Jackson since, as you say, most of the others in his squadron were trained there....... more than that I cannot say. I just wonder if he is in the photo your posted.......?? I just find it so very sad when I think of FAA 1847 Squadron, which was formed 1/2/1944 with 4 British and 8 Dutch pilots. 6 of its members were lost, ie half of the squadron, in flying accidents between 27/3/1944 and 18/5/1944 ie in less than 2 months. Of the 6 pilots killed in this period, 5 of them were Dutch and all died in training accidents. Can anyone tell me if it was 'normal' for such a high percentage of any one squadron to be killed during training exercises? I am interested to know what happened to EH den Hollander's family. Did they relocate to Australia or Canada before the Japanese invaded Java - or were they interned in Java in prisoner of war camps - or did they survive the Japanese invasion to die in the 'uprising' - or did they relocate to Holland or elsewhere after Java was granted its independence? There are so many possibilities. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Marco for your information - I found it very interesting. Marbeth
|
|
#7
31-01-10, 13:19
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
It was certainly not "normal" as this was a very high number of losses. Our family has wondered about this as well. One of the theories (named so as I cannot back it up with archive references) is that the pilots were put under high pressure training so the Squadron would be ready for the upcoming invasion. This led to the Squadron Commander and/or pilots taking unacceptable risks. As we have seen the result was disastrous. Word has it Commanding Officer L/C(A) H Colville-Stewart RNVR was relieved from his position, and 1847 Sqn was disbanded at Eglington in May 1944. The remainder of the squadron was absorbed into 1840 Squadron. Hanno
__________________
Regards, Hanno --------------------------
|
|
#8
31-01-10, 13:08
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Thanks again for the pictures!
__________________
Regards, Hanno --------------------------
|
|
#9
31-01-10, 12:55
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Thank you, your contributions are very useful. Here`s hoping this forum enables us to find the snippets of information and then piece them together to complete the puzzle. Hanno
__________________
Regards, Hanno --------------------------
|
|
#10
31-01-10, 13:03
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
Regards, Hanno -------------------------- Last edited by Hanno Spoelstra; 18-05-11 at 10:03. Reason: fixed link
|
 |
|
|
Hybrid Mode
