British Airmen Reburied in Friesland 82 Years After WWII Crash

Long-Awaited Reburial in Workum

Three British airmen, Pilot Officer Arthur Smart DFM, Pilot Officer Raymond Moore DFM, and Pilot Officer Charles Sprack DFM, were laid to rest with full military honors in Workum, Friesland, on October 10, 2025. The ceremony, held 82 years after their deaths, marked a poignant conclusion to a decades-long search for the crew of a Royal Air Force Lancaster bomber shot down during World War II. The airmen were reburied at Workum (Spoardyk) General Cemetery, joining two of their crewmates who had been interred there previously.

The Fateful Mission of Lancaster ED603

The three airmen were part of the seven-member crew aboard AVRO Lancaster MkIII ED603. On the night of June 12-13, 1943, their aircraft was on a bombing raid targeting Bochum, Germany, when it was intercepted and shot down by a German night fighter over the IJsselmeer, a large inland lake in the Netherlands. All seven crew members perished in the crash. While four of their comrades were recovered and buried shortly after the incident—including Arthur Gordon Fletcher and Harold Howsam in Workum, Pilot Eric Tilbury in Stavoren, and tail gunner Gordon Sugar in Hindeloopen—Smart, Moore, and Sprack remained missing for decades.

Discovery and Identification After 80 Years

The remains of Pilot Officers Smart, Moore, and Sprack were finally discovered in 2023 during a meticulous recovery operation of the Lancaster ED603 wreckage from the bottom of the IJsselmeer. The crash site itself had been initially located by local fishers in 1996. Identification of the airmen was significantly aided by the discovery of personal effects, including two silver-plated cigarette cases bearing the initials of Smart and Moore. This recovery effort, partly supported by a €15 million national plane-wreck rescue fund, brought closure to a mystery that had spanned eight decades.

A Dignified Conclusion

The reburial ceremony was a solemn occasion, attended by relatives of the fallen airmen, military officials, and representatives from various military organizations. Organized by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the British Ministry of Defence, and local Dutch authorities, the event saw the RAF King's Colour Squadron provide the bearer party. The reburial ensures that the three airmen now rest alongside their fellow crew members in Workum, adhering to the CWGC's principle of burying war dead with their comrades. Workum alderwoman Petra van den Akker remarked that the event marked 'the closing of a remarkable and emotional story of seven young men who fought for our freedom.'