Identities of crew of downed bomber still unconfirmed

Wellington crashed in July 1941

BOAZUM, the Netherlands - An area citizen group devoted to the memory of missing WWII Allied airmen, has kindled interest in one of its objectives in the United Kingdom. Long frustrated in its search for information on the crew of a Wellington bomber that crashed in the early hours of July 25, 1941 in a field near the village of Boazum in central Friesland, the group gained the help of the editors at The Sunday Express recently.

The newspaper in turn published a request for information and help from its readers to locate offspring and or family of the crew that perished with the Allied bomber. The men, thought to be part of the 103 Squadron, are buried in unmarked graves in Boazum, a village of about 400.

The residents of Boazum want to build a memorial to the crew, but first must officially identify them, and to do that they have to excavate the crash site. The support of the crew’s relatives is vital before such an undertaking can proceed.

Requests for information to the Royal Air Force had gone unanswered, hence the decision to involve the English newspaper.

Campaigner Douwe Drijver believes the crew to be: Flying Officer Mervyn Sydney Lund, from Auckland, New Zealand, Sgt John James Cox, of Knowle, Bristol, Sgt Alfred Le Poidevin from the Channel Isles, Sgt Arthur Edward Owen, of Birmingham, Sgt Frank Gordon Walker, of Hornsea, Yorkshire and Sgt Roy Williams, of Bridgend, Glamorgan.

The aircraft took off from its home base, Elsham Wolds, and is listed as having been lost without trace. The crew is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.