Stirling EE873 Memorial, Elen (Dilsen-Stokkem)

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EE873 was one of 374 aircraft in the 13/14 July 1943 Aachen raid. On the return flight it was intercepted by Hptm Wohlers's Bf 110 over Belgian Limburg and came down at Elen, near the Dutch-Belgian border, at 01:48. Seven of the eight crew were killed; the eighth, Sgt Clarke, survived undetected because the Germans recovered seven bodies — the normal complement for a Stirling — and concluded the crew was complete.

The Stirling was nominally a seven-man aircraft; this aircraft carried eight, with Clarke in the additional position. His escape by miscount is an unusual circumstance preserved in the aircrew remembered database. No evader report has been located in the sources consulted.

The seven dead were originally buried near St Truiden and exhumed after the war for reinterment at Heverlee War Cemetery near Leuven, where they lie together. The landowner Sylvester Colson maintained a personal commitment to the crew's memory and erected a memorial on his land, inviting families to make contact. A community memorial also stands in Elen village.

Landowner Sylvester Colson placed a private memorial on his land where the aircraft came down, and invited families of the crew to visit — an act of personal custodianship that continued for many years. The village of Elen, Dilsen-Stokkem, also maintains a community memorial.

Do you know of any commemorative events or annual services held at this memorial? We would love to hear from local communities who remember.