My mother’s ‘Pathfinder’ cousin Stewart Dennis died in Germany in August 1944, during the conflagration of WW2. That is where matters for my part of the family rested for more than 70 years from war’s end. We never expected a new chapter to open in Stewart's story, a valiant new story connected to the past.
To recap briefly on Part 1 of this story, Stewart was the navigator on the Lancaster PB209 of 156 Pathfinders Squadron, flying from RAF Upwood. In August 1944 a large raid was planned on the Opel plant at Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt, about 700 kilometres away. For the Opel raid the bomber force comprised 15 Pathfinder aircraft and 282 heavy bombers. (1)
PB209 took off at 22.01 on Saturday 12 August 1944, carrying red and green marker flares plus some incendiary bombs to light up the target for following aircraft as Pathfinder aircraft did not normally carry high explosive bombs.(2) The seven crew members included four Australians:
One source says: ‘The Lancaster bomber was the most effective British bomber of World War 2 …but suffered … the highest losses by any single type of aircraft throughout the war’.(3) The seven men on Lancaster PB209 were numbered among these losses and never returned home.
They died too young but they have lived on in our memories. Donald William Dunham’s medals were passed on to his niece Jean Stallwood by her grandmother and Jean had them framed. Donald was important to her as she grew up with her mother and grandmother often talking about him. Likewise, Stewart Dennis was a favourite cousin of my mother Julia Dennis and my sisters and I, and our Dennis cousins, grew up hearing about Stewart although we never knew him.
Now we have some touching details for what happened in Germany after that crash.
By December 1944 the Australian authorities knew that Alsbury and Valencia and three unknown crew were buried in the Cemetery at Wasserliesch.(5) This picturesque small town is near the confluence of the Saar and Mosel (Moselle) Rivers in Rheinland-Pfalz in the West of Germany near the Luxembourg border, the nearest city being Trier across the Mosel to the North-East.
After the war, it was stated in McDonald’s file that all seven crew were now located, two having been thrown clear of the crash, but now five bodies were unidentifiable and were buried together. That might mean that the first locals on the scene did not locate all the body parts scattered on impact until after the first and perhaps only report of the crash went to the German authorities in mid-August 1944.
In 2016 an Australian nephew of Donald Dunham (a man who wishes to remain anonymous) began to make enquiries in Germany and eventually a local newspaper Trierischer Volksfreund published an article on 12 November 2016 asking for information on the fate of the Lancaster PB209.
Once their attention was drawn to the crash, local residents recalled that the aircraft parts lying on the surface had been removed successively after the end of the war, and ‘the crash site fell into oblivion for a long time’.(6) They said ‘We decided to take the seven crew members - who lost their lives so tragically - and the place of the crash out of oblivion’.(7)
Through late 2016 and the first half of 2017 the amazing work of the research team was reported back to Australia by Michael Naunheim, the Media Officer for the local government area of Konz. He speaks good English and played his own important role in publicising the project locally via Facebook and the local newspaper, taking photographs and seeking assistance from the public. He also contacted the mayor of Wasserliesch (Mr. Thomas Thelen) who offered to help by asking people and by publishing a story in the weekly newsletter distributed in Wasserliesch.
Claes wanted to pass on to Naunheim the places where the plane had come down and he drew a map with three crosses: ‘one for the rear and one for the bow of the plane - the third indicates a cross that is said to have been set up for the victims of the crash’.(9)
Armed with his map and a video camera, on a cold winter’s day in early December 2016 Michael Naunheim took a hike from the Rosenberg in Könen to the Herrenbüsch forest in Wasserliesch.
A Mr Burg who visited the site as a child told everyone where to look for the crash site and the search continued:
Schnaufer’s preferred strategy was to approach a bomber from behind and below and fire a few 20mm cannon rounds into the fuel tank on the right wing of his target, which usually caused the aircraft to catch fire or explode.(15) Graphic imagery of the outcome for these unfortunate Lancaster bombers has since been created by the Polish digital artist Piotr Forkasiewicz.
The research team concluded that ‘the main impact point of the aircraft could not be determined unequivocally’. They believe that the fragmentary nature of the PB209 wreckage and the wide area in which it was found is due to events after August 1944. Early in 1945 the US Army advanced through the Saar/Moselle triangle area at Trier and broke Germany’s Siegfried Line of defence at this point, with heavy shelling. The PB209 crash site in the forest might have been heavily shelled if it was mistaken for German positions.(17)
In another email, Michael Naunheim wrote:
Although there had been much co-operation between the Australian relatives and German residents during the research process, the official opening ceremony was clearly seen as a personal moment for the Germans, as they reflected on the history of their country.
Particular thanks are due to Michael Naunheim who organised so much publicity for the cause, was so active in documenting the search and so humble at its conclusion: ‘We do hope that we could help you with everything we have done. As a reminder - and to give again a face to the key people that never gave up on this case and led finally to these results.’
Family members would also like to thank the key researcher, Manfred Metzdorf, who compiled the final report and organised the ‘resting place’ memorial along with Rainer Clemens.
Family members are particularly impressed at how the people from the Wasserliesch region acted in August 1944, putting up a wooden cross.
Descendants of the PB209 crew who are travelling in Europe are encouraged to visit Wasserliesch, about 250 km south-west of Frankfurt and about 35 km from Luxembourg. It's a place where former enemies can forgive and not forget but remember with kindness.
To recap briefly on Part 1 of this story, Stewart was the navigator on the Lancaster PB209 of 156 Pathfinders Squadron, flying from RAF Upwood. In August 1944 a large raid was planned on the Opel plant at Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt, about 700 kilometres away. For the Opel raid the bomber force comprised 15 Pathfinder aircraft and 282 heavy bombers. (1)
PB209 took off at 22.01 on Saturday 12 August 1944, carrying red and green marker flares plus some incendiary bombs to light up the target for following aircraft as Pathfinder aircraft did not normally carry high explosive bombs.(2) The seven crew members included four Australians:
- RAAF 407529 Flt Lt J N McDonald, DFM Captain (Pilot)
- RAF Sgt E W Hunter (Flight Engineer)
- RAAF 403914 Flt Lt S L Dennis DFC (Navigator)
- RAAF 403983 FO L L Deed DFC (Air Bomber)
- RAF WO W T Alsbury (Wireless Air Gunner)
- RAAF 406522 FO D W Dunham (Mid Upper Gunner)
- RAF Flt Sgt R H Valencia (Rear Gunner)
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| Crew Positions in a Lancaster, Source https://www.ordinarycrew.co.uk/the-avro-lancaster |
They died too young but they have lived on in our memories. Donald William Dunham’s medals were passed on to his niece Jean Stallwood by her grandmother and Jean had them framed. Donald was important to her as she grew up with her mother and grandmother often talking about him. Likewise, Stewart Dennis was a favourite cousin of my mother Julia Dennis and my sisters and I, and our Dennis cousins, grew up hearing about Stewart although we never knew him.
Now we have some touching details for what happened in Germany after that crash.
Wasserliesch
The Red Cross, through its ‘Missing Research and Enquiry Services’ operating in Germany, reported German eye witness accounts in 1944 that the ‘aircraft commenced to break up in the air shortly before it struck the ground and that the bodies of Warrant Officer Alsbury and Flight Sergeant Valencia were thrown clear’.(4)By December 1944 the Australian authorities knew that Alsbury and Valencia and three unknown crew were buried in the Cemetery at Wasserliesch.(5) This picturesque small town is near the confluence of the Saar and Mosel (Moselle) Rivers in Rheinland-Pfalz in the West of Germany near the Luxembourg border, the nearest city being Trier across the Mosel to the North-East.
After the war, it was stated in McDonald’s file that all seven crew were now located, two having been thrown clear of the crash, but now five bodies were unidentifiable and were buried together. That might mean that the first locals on the scene did not locate all the body parts scattered on impact until after the first and perhaps only report of the crash went to the German authorities in mid-August 1944.
In 2016 an Australian nephew of Donald Dunham (a man who wishes to remain anonymous) began to make enquiries in Germany and eventually a local newspaper Trierischer Volksfreund published an article on 12 November 2016 asking for information on the fate of the Lancaster PB209.
Once their attention was drawn to the crash, local residents recalled that the aircraft parts lying on the surface had been removed successively after the end of the war, and ‘the crash site fell into oblivion for a long time’.(6) They said ‘We decided to take the seven crew members - who lost their lives so tragically - and the place of the crash out of oblivion’.(7)
The Research team
A research team formed, with four key members: Mr Burg (who visited the crash area as a child), Manfred Metzdorf (the lead researcher), Egon Claes (with stories from his father), and Rainer Clemens (from Wasserliesch). |
| German Research Team with some of the PB209 wreckage, l to r Mr Burg, Manfred Metzdorf, Egon Claes, Rainer Clemens, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
Locating the Crash Site
After the newspaper story was published Naunheim was contacted by Egon Claes. Aged 53 and born in Konen, his father had told him that in 1944 local people took everything from the plane they could make use of. ‘The children carved rings out of the plexiglass panes and shoe soles were made from the rear wheel’, says Claes. His father also told him that the aircraft navigator still had the pencil in his hand - his hand had probably cramped’.(8)Claes wanted to pass on to Naunheim the places where the plane had come down and he drew a map with three crosses: ‘one for the rear and one for the bow of the plane - the third indicates a cross that is said to have been set up for the victims of the crash’.(9)
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| Provisional Locations of Aircraft Sections and Cross, Area close to confluence of Saar & Moselle Rivers, known as 'Herrenbusch' |
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| Michael Naunheim with his video camera |
When Naunheim arrives in a wooded area, he looks for a crater or holes that testify where the bow of the machine has hit. But all traces have disappeared: no holes, no remains. The cross also seems to be lost. But it stands on the edge of an abandoned pasture, several hundred meters from the crash site, hidden behind trees.(10)The Cross placed by local people near the crash site in 1944 remains there and is marked on official maps as a permanent geographical feature.
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| Commemorative Cross, almost overgrown by vegetation, Source Michael Naunheim video |
On December 4, 2016, 72 years after the crash, the first aircraft parts of Lancaster PB209 could be located. The place where PB209 crashed was found. Aluminum parts from the fuselage or the wings, fragments of instruments, lines with distributing pieces were only a few centimeters below the foliage [vegetation]. Perspex parts from the pulpits [cockpits], partly burned, also came to light. Around the discovery site, you can still clearly recognize the traces of fire in the earth.(11)
The Dig
The following photos taken in March 2017 show the search team and some of the artefacts uncovered, most being fragments for the reasons already outlined. |
| The Search Team, photo by courtesy Michael Naunheim |
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| Hunting for Metal, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| Found something, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| Some of the Remnants, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| More Items, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| An English Manufacturer, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| Distinctive Part, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
Target reached
Thanks to the German research team, we now know more about the results of the bombing mission involving 297 aircraft. The target was the Opel car factory, at that time being used for the manufacture of the fuselage and wings for flying bombs such as V1 and V2 which were blitzing London and surrounding areas.(12) The Pathfinders including PB209:arrived shortly before midnight at the supposed destination and set flare markings. Unfortunately, something went wrong that night. The markings were not in the factory ground but in “Königstädten” (town 6 kilometers away) and put some barns on fire. The following bombers detected the burning barns as a target dropping area (Report from the book "Bombennacht Königstädten 13 August 1944").(13)British records tell us that normal Pathfinder marking methods were used but:
The motor factory was only slightly damaged; the local report states that the tyre and dispatch departments and the powerhouse were hit but most of the bombs fell in open countryside south of the target.(14)
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| Map of Operation |
Schnaufer
PB209 was returning home from this mission when the aircraft was attacked at 00.48 on Sunday 13 August at an altitude of approx. 4,300 metres by the German night-fighter ‘ace’ Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer. As well as PB209, his 90th ‘kill’ of the war, he downed three other Lancasters that night: PD230, LM180 and ND694. His total tally for the war was 121 aircraft but their stories are for others to tell. A tail fin of his Messerschmitt is exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London.Schnaufer’s preferred strategy was to approach a bomber from behind and below and fire a few 20mm cannon rounds into the fuel tank on the right wing of his target, which usually caused the aircraft to catch fire or explode.(15) Graphic imagery of the outcome for these unfortunate Lancaster bombers has since been created by the Polish digital artist Piotr Forkasiewicz.
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| Lancaster Bomber on Fire |
The crash
The crew of the crippled PB209 had no time to implement emergency evacuation procedures. The German research team has now pieced together what happened next.Parts of the tailgate broke off and crashed to the ground at the end of the town. The aircraft then quickly lost altitude and flew towards Wasserliesch. Contemporary witnesses from Könen and Wasserliesch reported that the aircraft was seen burning in the night sky. The machine of Major Schnaufer turned away after the attack on the Lancaster and flew over Wasserliesch in the direction of Luxembourg. Pilot McDonald probably tried to keep the plane on course heading direction Luxembourg/Belgium. The severely damaged Lancaster broke further apart. The plane got into a spin, and the rear part with the attached rear turret torned [tore] off from the plane just before the stabilizer fins. Flying Officer Alsbury and Flight Sergeant Valencia were thrown out of the open rear part of the aircraft and fell to the ground with half-opened parachutes. Then the remaining part of the aircraft crashed into the mountain slope above the landmark “Herrenbüsch”. The airplane pulled a deep trail through the forest. The crash caused a violent fire, extinguished by the Wasserliesch fire brigade.(16)
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| From Strike to Crash |
The research team concluded that ‘the main impact point of the aircraft could not be determined unequivocally’. They believe that the fragmentary nature of the PB209 wreckage and the wide area in which it was found is due to events after August 1944. Early in 1945 the US Army advanced through the Saar/Moselle triangle area at Trier and broke Germany’s Siegfried Line of defence at this point, with heavy shelling. The PB209 crash site in the forest might have been heavily shelled if it was mistaken for German positions.(17)
Eye Witness Reports, Wasserliesch, Aug 1944
The main fuselage ended up at Wasserliesch. Several witnesses who were children or teenagers at the time either saw the aircraft coming down, on fire, or they visited the site in the following days. Michael Naunheim wrote:One very nice lady contacted me as a result of my research. She has written a book about Wasserliesch history (Wasser zerreibt Steine) mentioning the crash in August 1944 on page 239. This confirms that the plane crashed in the district “Herrenbüsch”. Her older sisters– against advice of their mother - ran into the forest to see what happened. After seeing what happened (burned out plane, two dead bodies hanging in parachutes), they were scared afterwards when in darkness or in the cellar and had to check every corner for “Boahpes” (a local scary phantasy figure… sort of bogey). Unfortunately one of the sisters died last year – the other one is suffering from dementia and is not able to remember anything.(18)Wasser zerreibt Steine (Water Grinds Stones) is an autobiography by Brigitte Thelen and Michael Naunhein quoted a passage from it, describing the crash:
In August there was a deafening bang after a burning Allied plane was flying low over the village. Clouds of black smoke were visible over the Herrenbüsch district. When the Wasserliescher fire department arrived, they found a crashed, burned-out plane and nearby two dead soldiers still hanging from parachutes. The forest that had caught fire was quickly extinguished and they still had to recover burned bodies from the burned-out plane.(19)
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| Water Breaks Stones |
I got a call from Mrs. Ziegler out of Wasserliesch – at that time she was 15 years old. She saw the plane burning and flying over the river Mosel that night – coming from direction Igel (the other side of the river) flying over the Reinigerstraße into the direction of Rosenberg/Herrenbüsch. She ran to the crash site next day and saw a severed swollen arm lying there. A picture she never forgot.(20)Of more than ten contemporary witnesses who came forward, Egon Claes knew the most important of them, Artur Peters aged eighty.
He wrote the Könen Chronicle and he knows exactly what he is talking about. Because he even has photo evidence of the crash. In the picture he can be seen at the age of eight together with his sister Karin and his brother Edgar as they stand on the stern of the crashed bomber. Peters still knows exactly where his uncle Matthias Holbach took the picture on the Rosenberg. ‘You saw the hole at the crash site for a long time’ … He no longer knows exactly on which day the picture was taken - at least shortly after the crash. A dead man was lying next to the machine.(21)
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| Crashed PB209, l to r, Edgar, Karin and Artur Peters, 13 or 14 August 1944, Source Michael Naunheim video |
Initial gravesite
The remains of the crew were treated with great respect and they were initially interred in the Old Cemetery of St. Aper Church at Wasserliesch. |
| St Aper Church, Wasserliesch, Source Wikipedia |
Second raid on Russelsheim
Soon after, given the lack of results from the first bombing raid on Russelsheim, a second raid on the Opel target by 412 aircraft took place on the night of 25/26 August. British records refer:The Pathfinder marking was accurate and the raid was successfully completed in 10 minutes. An official German report. says that the forge and the gearbox assembly departments were put out of action for several weeks, but 90 per cent of the machine tools in other departments escaped damage. The assembly line and part of the pressworks were able to recommence work 2 days later and lorry assembly was unaffected because of considerable stocks of ready-made parts.(22)The local population was so fearful, upset, angry and distraught at the bombing that they took their revenge on some American prisoners passing through the town and not part of the bombing raid. Six Americans were killed in the Russelsheim massacre of 26 August 1944 and, after a war-crime trial later initiated by the US Army, six German men were executed and two women went to gaol for 30 years.
Reburial
After the war on 11 June 1948 the remains of the PB209 crew were removed from Wasserliesch to Rheinberg British War Cemetery about 250 km north of the crash site. The remains of pilot McDonald were subsequently repatriated from a common grave at Rheinberg to the North Road Cemetery, Adelaide so we must assume that he could somehow be identified.(23)Sunday 13 August 2017 – Opening of Memorial
It is very touching that a ‘resting place’ or place of reflection has now been created very close to the crash site, with a bench and a memorial plaque fixed on a rock in memory of the PB209 crew. This resulted from a private initiative by Mr. Metzdorf, Mr. Clemens and other local people. A small public commemoration ceremony led by the mayor of Wasserliesch (Mr. Thomas Thelen) was held on Sunday 13 August 2017, exactly 73 years after this tragic event. About 50 interested people turned up. Unfortunately, Mr Metzdorf was unwell on the day and was unable to attend.Although there had been much co-operation between the Australian relatives and German residents during the research process, the official opening ceremony was clearly seen as a personal moment for the Germans, as they reflected on the history of their country.
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| Crowd at Unveiling, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| Story Board, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| In Memory Of ...., photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
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| The Resting Place, for Reflection, photo by courtesy of Michael Naunheim |
Thank you
All family members of the crew of Lancaster PB209 wish to thank the splendid group of local researchers in Germany who voluntarily unearthed a large volume of documentary and physical evidence relating to an event more than 70 years earlier. Their sustained effort and dedication is much appreciated.Particular thanks are due to Michael Naunheim who organised so much publicity for the cause, was so active in documenting the search and so humble at its conclusion: ‘We do hope that we could help you with everything we have done. As a reminder - and to give again a face to the key people that never gave up on this case and led finally to these results.’
Family members would also like to thank the key researcher, Manfred Metzdorf, who compiled the final report and organised the ‘resting place’ memorial along with Rainer Clemens.
Family members are particularly impressed at how the people from the Wasserliesch region acted in August 1944, putting up a wooden cross.
Descendants of the PB209 crew who are travelling in Europe are encouraged to visit Wasserliesch, about 250 km south-west of Frankfurt and about 35 km from Luxembourg. It's a place where former enemies can forgive and not forget but remember with kindness.
P.S. You are invited to 'Like' Louise Wilson, Author on Facebook.
Endnotes
[1] German Report (Crash of an Avro Lancaster III at Wasserliesch (District of Trier-Saarburg) on August 13th 1944 at 00:48m, Registration: PB209, English version of a Report by Manfred Metzdorf and others, August 2017, emailed by Michael Naunheim to Dunham nephew, 10 Aug 2017)
[2] Letter
to Mrs J McDonald from Secretary, Dept of Air, 9 Mar 1949, National Archives of
Australia, NAA: A705, 166/26/544, Item Barcode 1073262
[3] Ordinary
Crew website https://www.ordinarycrew.co.uk/the-avro-lancaster
[4] Letter
to Mrs J McDonald from Secretary, Dept of Air, 9 Mar 1949, National Archives of
Australia, NAA: A705, 166/26/544, Item Barcode 1073262
[5] James
Neil McDonald, National Archives of Australia, NAA: A705, 166/26/544, Item
Barcode 1073262
[6] German
Report, op cit
[7] German
Report, op cit
[8] Email
from Michael Naunheim to Dunham nephew, 24 Nov 2016
[9] Volksfreund article, 6 Jan 2017 (English translation of an
online story in German newspaper Volksfreund, (Video) ‘Bomber crashed at
Wasserliesch in 1944 - Australian wants to know more about his dead uncle’, 6 Jan 2017, https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.volksfreund.de/nachrichten/region/konz/aktuell/Heute-in-der-Konzer-Zeitung-Video-Bomber-stuerzte-1944-bei-Wasserliesch-ab-Australier-will-mehr-ueber-seinen-toten-Onkel-wissen%3Bart8100,4578897&prev=search)
[10] Ibid
[11] German
Report, op cit
[12] Email
from Michael Naunheim to Dunham nephew, 14 Nov 2016
[13] German
Report, op cit
[14] Bomber
Command website, archived on UK National Archives website http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706054833/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug44.html
[15] For more details see https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/death-took-a-holiday.html
[16] German
Report, op cit
[17] German
Report, op cit
[18] Email
from Michael Naunheim to Dunham nephew, 14 Nov 2016
[19] Volksfreund article, op cit
[20] Email
from Michael Naunheim to Dunham nephew, 24 Nov 2016
[21] Volksfreund article, op cit
[22] Bomber Command website, op cit
[23] Dunham nephew’s email to
Louise Wilson, 23 April 2017
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