Gandvoortweg, Barlo
On the Gandvoortweg in the rural district of Barlo in Aalten, there is a modest memorial, erected in memory of the British Flying Officer Leslie Pulfrey of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The memorial marks the meadow where Pulfrey was found dead in the early morning of June 17, 1944, after a failed jump from his burning Lancaster bomber.
The mission
On the evening of 16 June 1944, the four-engined Avro Lancaster bomber ME840, with Pulfrey as a crew member, took off from North Killingholme airfield in Lincolnshire, England. The mission was an attack on factories in Sterkrade, Germany, where, among other things, synthetic oil was produced for the German war industry.
The plane, with seven crew members on board, completed its bombing raid and returned to England. On the way back, however, it was intercepted and attacked by the German night fighter pilot Joseph Nabrich. One of the fuel tanks in the wing caught fire almost immediately, leaving the aircraft irretrievably lost.
The fatal leap
On the pilot’s orders, the crew was ordered to abandon the aircraft. Leslie Pulfrey was the first to jump into the airspace above Barlo. But something went terribly wrong. Although the exact cause remains unclear, he was found dead in a meadow in the early morning of 17 June 1944 by farmer Johan van Eerden of the nearby farm Nieuw Kolstee (Smol).
It is possible that Leslie came into contact with the plane during his jump or that his parachute did not open properly. From a distance, the place where he had landed was clearly visible; His body was still connected to his parachute, which was bulged by the wind. There was a large tear in the parachute and his head had become entangled in the cords. Leslie also missed one of his aviator boots, which he apparently lost after his jump. His name was mentioned on his identification plate.
The crash
The burning Lancaster eventually crashed in a meadow behind the ‘Oude Lieftinck’ farm on the Heelweg (now Twenteroute 5). All but one of the crew were killed. Flight engineer Roy Kay was thrown out of the plane by an explosion just before the crash. Miraculously, he was the only survivor to reach the ground in one piece. He escaped arrest and finally managed to return to England on 22 September 1944, with the help of pilot helpers.
Leslie Pulfrey and his killed colleagues were transferred to Varsseveld, where they were buried.
Tribute
In June 2014, Leslie Pulfrey was honored with a ceremony, during which a so-called Fly-past took place. Four F-16s flew over the vicinity of the Gandvoortweg, and one of the aircraft took off straight up on the spot as a tribute. Thea Onnink has recorded her memories of this moment in this story, read by Herman Onnink.
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