Nodes: 18 - 19 - 54 - 56 - 40 - 25 - 23 - 30 - 22 - 12 - 14 - 18
Number of km: 31 km
Starting point: Docks Visserhang, Visserhang 2 in Hank
From the starting point, cycle toward node 18
Direction of node 18
At the intersection Oranjepolderweg - Aakvlaaiweg stands the monument commemorating the Halifax crash. If you stand in front of the monument, behind it you can see the plot on which the Halifax crashed.
The crew of the Halifax consisted of war volunteers from England and Canada. They were good friends who had already gained the necessary experience. They renamed their aircraft "Willy. This may be the nickname of the pilot Wilson. Also, this nickname may be derived from the code EY-W, the aircraft code. For this crew, this was its 21st mission.
At 10:55 p.m. on May 25, 1944, Halifax Mk III LV905 EY-W 'Willy' departed RAF Breigton and joined 431 other Bomber Command bombers to set course for and attack a railroad yard at Aachen. On the return flight, the plane was shot down by a Me 110 night fighter and crashed in flames near Hank at 01:30 a.m. with the loss of all seven crew members. Text: Adri Burghout, War Museum Veen
Direction node 18
At the intersection Oranjepolder - Nathalweg there is a picnic bench. Here you can see a creek running: the Bleeke Kil. You also see a bridge called 'Jannezand'. This crosses the ditch of St. Jan (a narrow creek along the Jannezand). This bridge had, at the end of World War II, an important function for the resistance. It served as a connecting route to already liberated Brabant. Through the bridge, important information, goods and people could reach the Allied forces. German prisoners of war were also taken here, which the memorial stone on the bridge still reminds us of. In 2021, the bridge was restored to its former glory. Text: www.biesbosch.nu
Near node 40 - Fort Altena
Tol 8, 4251 PX Werkendam
Fort Altena dates from 1847-1850, making it the oldest of the four Brabant forts in the New Dutch Waterline. It is also the only tower fort of these four forts.
The tower of Fort Altena owes its name mainly to its round shape, not to its height. It consists of 2 layers: a basement and a first floor. The walls are "bombproof" and nearly 2 meters thick, as protection against artillery strikes. Ironically, when these walls were completed, they had already been overtaken by developments in the arms industry. They were never truly bomb-proof.
Tip: At junction 25 you can deviate from the route to visit the Lancaster monument. Follow the Krouwerskade. At the end, turn onto the Grote Waardweg towards the Biesbosch and you will see the monument on your right. If you stand in front of the monument, you will see to the right of the monument the field where in 2014 the go-ahead was given to recover the Lancaster.
On June 22, 1944, an Avro Lancaster MkIII of 101 Squadron, reference LM508 SR-P crashed near Werkendam around 01:50 a.m. The crew of this Lancaster consisted of eight men. Six of them managed to ground; two crew members were killed. Eight crew members was not an ordinary number. The reason of an added crew member was that the plane was equipped with a "top secret" radio jamming system, which listened to the code name "Airborne Cigar" (ABC).
Normally, a Lancaster had seven crew members. Those crew members were: pilot P/O G. Hingley (22); flight engineer Sgt. S.D. Rogerson; navigator F/O T.W. Ball; radio operator/board gunner Sgt. L.V. Horrigan; flight gunner Sgt. J. Gascoigne; radio operator (special duty officer) Sgt. F. Sheard; bomb aimer F/Sgt. Thomas Handley Duff and tail gunner Sgt. John Edward Keogh (23). It is these last two crew members who died in the crash. In that attack, tail gunner John Keogh is killed instantly in his gun turret and bomb aimer Thomas Duff is also seriously injured.
A fuel tank is hit and a fire breaks out. The captain gives the order to abandon the plane. Rogerson gets Duff to strap on a parachute and pushes him out of the plane. He then jumps himself. Both land safely, but Duff dies from his gunshot wounds. Pilot Hingley breaks his back while exiting the aircraft, presumably due to colliding with one of the antennas. Upon landing, he also collides violently with a bridge, forcing his ribs into his left lung. He is found fairly quickly by the Germans and taken to a hospital. The rest land near the Borcharen polder and are also quickly captured by the Germans. The only one who initially manages to escape is the back gunner Jeff Gascoigne. He is later apprehended near Antwerp and taken as a prisoner of war.
Meanwhile, the Lancaster was burning and burning at a speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour, drilling some seven meters deep into the Werkendam clay just ten meters from the Dalm family's farm. Burning debris from the plane set the thatched roof ablaze and within half an hour the farm was completely in ashes. The Dalm family had just barely managed to get to safety. Text: Adri Burghout, War Museum Veen
Tip! Between node 23 and 30 you can deviate from the route to visit the monument de Linie Crosser. At the intersection Werkensedijk, Kruisstraat, Hoogstraat and Kerkstraat, enter Kerkstraat. This turns into the van Tienhoven van de Boogaardstraat and at the deer park is the monument.
The Monument "The Line-crosser" in Werkendam was erected to commemorate two resistance fighters who were shot by the Germans: Arie van Driel and Kees van de Sande.
Werkendam is adjacent to the Biesbosch, an almost inaccessible area that in the winter of 1944-1945 served as a no man's land between the north, which was still occupied by the Germans, and the south of the Netherlands. The area was used not only by people in hiding but also by "line-crossers": people who helped Allied soldiers make their way south. There were 374 such tours carried out. The two Dutchmen Arie van Driel and Kees van de Sande, were "line-crossers" and were captured by the Germans. They were executed at Fort de Bilt on April 30, 1945, just before liberation, and were buried in Werkendam's Protestant Cemetery, near the monument. After their deaths, the Military Order of William was issued. Text: TracesOfWar.co.uk
At node 30
Find benches and the monument Merwedegijzelaars. The plaque for Merwedegijzelaars in Werkendam was erected in memory of the 589 young men rounded up during a raid on May 16, 1944. (Photo monument route overview: Piet Kramer).
On May 16, 1944, in a raid in Sliedrecht and Hardinxveld, 589 young men between the ages of 18 and 25 were rounded up and assembled at the Grote Kerk in Sliedrecht and the School met de Bijbel in Hardinxveld. All but a small number of these men were transported to Camp Amersfoort. After seven weeks, a large group was allowed to return home. The men who were not so fortunate were sent to labor camps in Germany. Twelve of these men from Sliedrecht died there from the effects of hard work, insufficient food and disease. The raid was an act of retaliation by the occupying forces after the shooting of two NSB members by the resistance. Text: War Graves Foundation
Between node 22 and 12
Here a Halifax crashed, which was part of 424 squadron. The location is along the bicycle dike from Werkendam to Visserhang.
Originally, a squadron in the Air Force is the designation for an operational unit with aircraft and all associated personnel under a commander. A squadron can also be an Air Force unit with a supporting (e.g. maintenance, logistics or transport) or facilitating task. Fun fact, the designation squadron has been in use in the Netherlands since World War II. Before that, the term "aircraft division" was used.
Want to learn more about 424 squadron and its crew? Then visit the website of the Omzien en Gedenken Foundation.
From node 12 to node 14
The water you see here is the Steurgat. This water was part of the route taken by the "line-crossers. In the fall of 1944 the south of the Netherlands was liberated. This resulted in the Biesbosch from then on being between the lines of the Germans and the Allies. The 'line-crossers' maintained a connection between liberated and occupied territory from this period on. This group was part of the larger Albrecht resistance group.
Over two different routes, people, goods, information and medicines (especially insulin) were transported. In total, about 374 crossings were made. These were mainly military courier routes, but Jews and stranded pilots were also able to find a way to liberated Holland. Although it is known how many crossings were made, it is not known how many people were ferried across. One of them was General John Hackett, who was severely wounded in Arnhem, but survived an operation and managed to escape via this crossing route.
The first route ran from Werkendam to Drimmelen. This first went a little overland, then by canoe across the Steurgat. Then along the polder Pauluszand to the island Middelste Jannezand, and then along the Biesbosch side on the Amer. There a basket hung opposite restaurant 't Voske and opposite the port of Drimmelen to indicate when to cross. The basket was further hoisted when crossers arrived.
Want to know more about the line-crossers? Then check out Omzien en denken or visit the Biesbosch MuseumEiland.
Activity: cycling