A piece of good news to cheer us all at this festive season. This blog’s good friend Volker Schürmann has recently informed us that the appeal for funds to erect a permanent memorial at the site where Norman Barlow and his crew crashed on the night of the Dams Raid has succeeded. The stone for the memorial is now being quarried and the plaque is being designed. The memorial will be officially unveiled at a ceremony at 11.00am on Sunday 17 May 2015, the 72nd anniversary of the Dams Raid, and the crash.
The crash occurred on farmland, a few kilometres from Haldern, a small community in Rees in the state of North Rhine Westphalia. Lancaster ED927, code name AJ-E, had been the first aircraft to take off on Operation Chastise, leaving RAF Scampton at 2128 on Sunday 16 May 1943. Just over two hours later, flying at about 100 feet, it struck a pylon. It may have been hit by flak a few moments before. The crew of seven were all killed, and are now interred in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. They were:
Flt Lt Norman Barlow DFC (pilot)
Plt Off Leslie Whillis (flight engineer)
Flg Off Philip Burgess (navigator)
Flg Off Charles Williams DFC (wireless operator)
Plt Off Alan Gillespie DFM (bomb aimer)
Flg Off Harvey Glinz (front gunner)
Sgt Jack Liddell (rear gunner)
It is thought that members of the families of at least four of the crew will be attending the unveiling of the memorial.
More details will follow. Members of the public will be welcome to attend.
Many thanks are due to Volker Schürmann and his colleagues for organising the memorial.
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Dambusters Blog 
Great news. Good news is very welcome anywhere in Australia at the moment.
Merry Christmas to you Charles and Volker and to all the Dambuster bloggers.
Best wishes
Graeme Jensen
Many thanks to my cousin Charles for the work he has done. Also, that Volker has been able and willing to create a memorial. The courage of the crews does not fade with time. All the best for Christmas and 2015.
David Blackburn
A great effort by all, thanks to Volker and all of us who contributed to the memory of those brave men .
— NEWSLETTER — DAMBUSTER AJ Easy ED927 memorial —
— 5th edition —
Dear donators,
as well many thanks for all new donators.
Now we have reached the number of 112 donations of 89 donators – less the paypal fee we have collected 768,22 Euro within 8 months of running.
Thats enough to close the hat and to arrange the installation of the memorial stone with the bronze plaque. Local stonemason and local construction company also supports the erection of the memorial stone.
The memorial will be officially unveiled at a ceremony at 11.00am on Sunday 17 May 2015 on the farmland near the crashsite.
(For all GPS-junkies: N 51° 47.797 E 6°26.546 or 51,796617 6,442433 / Bing.com maps)
An officially invitation letter will follow.
Please have a short look for the entry in the dambusterblog.com: https://dambustersblog.com/2014/12/22/good-news-for-dambuster-memorial-appeal/
furthermore I invite you to follow my flipboard blog round the AJ Easy crashsite: http://flip.it/5aOZ4 (best use by the flipboard-APP for iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire & NOOK).
Officials of RAF and RAAF from the near NATO JAPCC Kalkar will be expected at the unveiling ceremony, too.
Many many thanks.
Merry christmas and a happy new year 2015.
Lest we forget.
Yours Volker
This news is especially poignant at this time of year–congratulations to all involved
Mark your calendar:
17 may 2015 – 11am
More details will follow.
Event is planned via facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/411999792282494/?ref=22
Wonderful news , SO WELL DESERVED and many many thanks to Volker Schurmann for his kindness.
Maureen Gray
ACCOMMODATIONS:
Here you can find hotels, rooms and pensions in the town of Rees and the districts (especially Haldern) :
Click to access Rees_Broschuere_2014.pdf
Unfortunately only in german language.
I can advice the follwing accommodations in Haldern and nearby:
* http://www.drostenhof.de/ (HALDERN)
* http://hoteldoppeladler.de/ (HALDERN)
* http://www.lindenhof-haldern.de/ (HALDERN)
* http://tepferdt.squarespace.com/ (HALDERN)
* http://www.fewo-am-niederrhein.de/ferienwohnung…
* http://www.hof-nagel-ferienwohnung-rees.de/ (HALDERN)
* http://www.kluykenhof.de/ (MILLINGEN)
* http://www.rees-online.de/jonkhans/ (MILLINGEN)
* http://www.hotel-rheinpark.de/de/ (REES)