LAN R5905
crashed
here near Madum on 24 SEP 1942. The farm Øster Høgsbjerg near Idom is
here,
Høgsbjergvej 11, 7500 Holstebro.
See from Arne Mosgaard the article A reunion
47 years later
page 1 and
page 2 from Holstebro Dagblad on 15 July 1989:
A reunion 47 years later
By Lars Ole Knippel
Yesterday two crew members
from a British bomber that was shot down, for the first time in nearly 47
years met their Danish helpers. They were received at the
Holstebro Town
Hall by Vice-Mayor Jørn Walbjørn Christensen, who presented the Englishmen
with gold cuff links and the ashtray of the town to thank them for their
efforts for Denmark during the occupation. Helped seven on the run
Farmer Ulrik Jensen, his wife Helga Jensen, and farmhand Arne Lykke Nielsen
helped seven crew members on the run when their plane, a Lancaster
bomber,
had been hit by German flak south of Ulfborg in the night between
25th and 26th September 1942. The Englishmen were on a bombing raid. Later
they were appre-
hended and they were Prisoners of War for 31 months until
they were liberated by the 9th American Army.
Both the Captain of the
plane W. V. Rickards, who now lives in South Africa, and Co-Pilot J. W.
Hargreaves, who lives in Sheffield in England, were moved at
meeting
the people
from the farm. For many years all of them had in vain tried to contact each
other. Not until the Dane Helge Kristensen, Hornslet, who intends
to write
a
book about the chain of events, by a coincidence got on the track of the
story did they manage to establish contact.
Remembers it as if it
were yesterday
Then Ulrik and Helga Jensen owned the farm ”Øster Høgsbjerg” in Idom
near Holstebro. Here the crew members took shelter and were fed. ”I remember
the
encounter
with the Englishmen as if it were yesterday,” Ulrik Jensen
states. ”Helga came running to me in the cowhouse and said, ”Wet socks are
hanging on a
beam in the
stable.” Together with our farmhand I jumped up
upon the threshing machine and we saw that the Englishmen put up their hands.
They thought that I
was armed, but in my insufficient English I told them
that they were among friends. Helga cooked a nice meal for the Englishmen
who were weak with hunger and
we had a good time together. They asked for
the directions to Esbjerg and Randers. We advised them not to stay in West
Jutland, because there were lots of
Germans in the area. During their
further evasion they were apprehended by the Germans after a tip from a Dane.”
Hit by flak
Captain W. V. Rickards also clearly recalls the bombing raid to Denmark and
the reception on the farm.
”A heavy thunderstorm over the North Sea had interrupted the intercom.
However, we had it fixed. Through holes in the layer of clouds we saw the
contours of the
west coast of Jutland. Suddenly we saw some flashes from the
flak of the German Wehrmacht. Seconds later we had the disaster. The fuel
tank in the port wing
was hit by
a shell and burst into flames. It was
impossible to bail out because the altitude was too low. We were hoping for
a miracle. I said, ”Get ready to get
out fast,” dropped our seven tons of
incendiary bombs and made a crash landing without a single scratch
to any of us.
The British airmen hid all night and the following day. They were hungry and
cold. After dark they reached ”Øster Høgsbjerg” where they recovered before
they
moved
on.
”We’ll never forget the Danish hospitality,” the Captain, now 69, stated. He
and his Co-Pilot visited the farm and had a meal with their hosts after the
reception at
the
Town Hall. ”Next year I’ll go on holiday in Denmark - - -.”
See
photo on page 2 of the
article in Danish. |