Mosquito DZ354 Information Panel, Herwijnen/Fort Asperen

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On the afternoon of 12 December 1943, Mosquito DZ354 of No. 105 Squadron took off from RAF Marham at 16:52, one of several Mosquitoes despatched on a low-level precision mission to bomb the Krupp armaments works at Essen. The crew were Flying Officer Benjamin Frank Reynolds (pilot), aged 21, and Flying Officer John Douglass Phillips (navigator), aged 21 from Billericay, Essex.

On the return leg at 19:25, the aircraft was intercepted west of Zaltbommel by Hptm Manfred Meurer, Gruppenkommandeur of Stab I./NJG1, flying a Heinkel He 219 with his radar operator Oberfeldwebel Gerhard Scheibe. This was Meurer's 59th confirmed Abschuss. DZ354 crashed on the north bank of the Waal at Herwijnen, near Fort Asperen. Both crew were killed. Local residents recovered the bodies; Reynolds and Phillips were buried together in joint grave 5 at Herwijnen General Cemetery, where they remain.

Meurer himself survived only six weeks longer. On the night of 21/22 January 1944 his He 219 collided with Lancaster W4852 approximately 20 km east of Magdeburg; Meurer, Scheibe, and all seven Lancaster crew were killed. He had claimed 65 aerial victories across 130 combat missions.

Reynolds is also commemorated on the war memorial at Gresham's School, Norfolk.

Information panel maintained as part of the Lingewaal WWII route, administered by the local municipality and the WW2 and Aviators Museum Rivierenland at Fort Vuren (closed until May 2027). Reynolds is also commemorated at Gresham's School, Norfolk.

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