On Friday, July 28, 2017 , the commemoration of the military and civil victims of the Halifax crash of July 28, 1944 will take place at the memorial in Hemmestraat 53 Ramskapelle . The ceremony starts at 10:30 am and is attended by the relatives of the civilian victims - the family Verhaeverbeke-Couvreur, a delegation of the provincial command of West Flanders, the military attaché of the British Embassy, the patriotic associations, the city council of Nieuwpoort and the local community “Ramscapple aan den Yser”, which is the initiator of this annual commemoration. also mentioned on the commemorative stone:
On 28 July 1944 at 4:04 pm, the No 78 Squadron Halifax bomber EY-X MZ340 took off from Breighton (England) with the aim of bombing the V1 launchers and storage sites of Forêt de Nieppe (France). 199 bombers were used for this. The EY-X MZ340 was in charge of the 16 aircraft of the same squadron that belonged to No 4 Group.
At 8 miles off the Belgian coast, the plane was hit by a flak from the 'gem. Flak - Abt.252 'located in Mariakerke (Ostend). The pilot avoided Nieuwpoort-Stad and dropped 16 bombs of 250 kg between Sint-Joris and Ramskapelle. 2 residents of Sint-Joris were accidentally killed. The pilot kept his plane under control so that the crew could leave the badly damaged aircraft. Here at this place Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Russell Harry Winter fell into the flooded moat with his torn parachute. The 5 other paratroopers were taken prisoner of war. The pilot Flight Lieutenant William Gladstone Hoffman crashed with his Halifax EY-X near the farm 'Groot Noordhof' at 5:59 pm. All victims are buried in the civil cemetery of Saint George