Wargraves in Dordrecht and the area
Below, you will find a list of wargraves that can be found in the Dordrecht region. The largest part of these war victims are Dutch soldiers that fell in may 1940 in the Dordrecht area. In other cases it is often allied aircrew who got killed in aircrashes in the area. Because their are more than enough summary’s of KIA soldiers, but barely any lists of KIA soldiers that are buried in cemetary’s in the region, I decided to make such a list for the visitor of this website.
The author of the webs website Zuidfront-Holland1940 has done an amazing job by creating a digital court of honor on the earlier mentioned website. For that reason I have chosen not to go in to detail about the circumstances of the death of these war victims. But to refer to the website of Zuidfront-Holland1940. The reference per specifc war victim ( only Dutch soldiers killed in action in may 1940) is to be found where the name and unit of the soldier is written. If you click on that, you will find the digital court of honor of the earlier mentioned website where you can find more about KIA circumstances and the soldier. In some cases the author mentions different KIA dates than the Dutch War Graves Commission. I have chosen to apprehend the KIA date on the source that was mentioned first. Research has indicated that some KIA dates that the Dutch War Graves Commission mentions are not correct.
In the second column where you will find the date of birth of the mentioned person, you will be referred to the website of the Dutch War Graves Commission . In some cases you can find additional information en even photographs of the KIA soldier. De Dutch War Graves Commission is an organzation that maintains war graves across the whole world. In the Netherlands this organization also takes care of the allied war graves on Dutch soil. In many cases it is possible to adopt a war grave. This is free of charge. More information on adopting a war grave you will find here: Oorlogsgravenstichting/adopteren .
Wargraves
Cemetry “Het Essenhof”
(Adress: Nassauweg 200 - 3314 JR Dordrecht) The court of honor on the general cemetary “het Essenhof” contains 96 war graves. The majority of the graves are Dutch war graves. Of the 81 Dutch graves on the court of honor, 70 graves belong to Dutch soldiers who got killed in may 1940. De 11 remaining graves belong to resitance members, the Dutch domestic forces (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten) or other war victims. The majority of the Dutch graves are from soldiers that got killed in action in may 1940 here in Dordrecht and were buried directly on the general cemetary after the fighting ended. Some graves of Dutch soldiers have been moved from different areas in the country. In addition, there are 15 British war graves. Some of these graves are from British army soldiers who were treated in German field hospitals in Dordrecht and died of their wounds. There are also a few graves of Briitish air force personal that died in airplane crashes close to Dordrecht.

Dutch War graves
English Wargraves
| Row-Grave | Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| A-1 | James Albert Lambert - The Lincolnshire Regiment | Born xx-xx-1913 - K.I.A. 01-10-1944 |
| A-2 | George Henry Walding - 7th Battalion The Seaforth Highlanders | Born xx-xx-1909 - K.I.A. 29-09-1944 |
| A-3 | Henry John Anthony Thicknesse - Royal Artillery and command and staff | Born 31-12-1900 - K.I.A. 23-10-1944 |
| A-4 | Alan Edward Sentance - 1st Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment | Born 28-05-1924 - K.I.A. 26-10-1944 |
| A-5 | Stanley Ernest Head - 7th Battalion The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding) | Born xx-xx-1926 - K.I.A. 31-10-1944 |
| A-6 | Kenneth Edward Button - Pilot Warrant Officer Royal Airforce (V.R. 257 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-xxxx - K.I.A. 20-01-1945 |
| A-7 | Leslie Mathers Gill - Air Gunner Sergeant Royal Air Force (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born 21-04-1908 - K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-8 | Eric John Smalldon - Air Gunner Sergeant Royal Air Force (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born 20-10-1922 - K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-9 | Roy Whittington - Flight Engineer Sergeant Royal Air Force (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-1924 - K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-10 | David Selwyn Thomas - Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Flying Officer RAF (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-1927 - K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-11 | James Edward Brown - Air Bomber Flying Officer Royal Air Force (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-1921 - K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-12 | Harry Johnson - Navigator Flying Officer Royal Air Force (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-1911 - K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-13 | Paul William Tooley - Pilot Flying Officer Royal Air Force (V.R. 90 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-xxxx- K.I.A. 16-09-1944 |
| A-14 | Hrin Yain Lao - Pilot Flight Lieutenant Royal Air Force (V.R. 257 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-1925 - K.I.A. 20-01-1945 |
| A-15 | Arthur Gordon Richardson - Pilot Flight Lieutenant Royal Air Force (V.R. 127 Sqdn) | Born xx-xx-1918 - K.I.A. 22-01-1945 |
Particuliere oorlogsgraven
| Field-Row-Grave | Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| B-R-8 | Johannes Pompejus de Court Onderwater - Member Resistance | Born 05-05-1923 - Executed 08-03-1945. |
| C-F-47 | Bernardina Catharina Dicke - Civilian | Born 07-10-1878 - Died 24-10-1944. |
| N-4-3 | Daniël van der Munnik - Conscript Private 4-II-1 Lv.R. | Born 20-12-1919 - K.I.A. 10-05-1940. |
| N-9-17 | Joost Pieter Dekker - Civilian | Born 01-01-1922 - Died 25-06-1945. |
| N-15-21 | Gerrit Roubos - Civilian | Born 17-01-1907 - Died 22-04-1944. |
| N-17-2 | Wilhelmina Morks - Civilian | Born 03-05-1923 - Died 24-10-1944. |
| N-17-7 | Jacobus Smits - Civilian | Geboren 03-01-1934 - Died 24-10-1944. |
| N-25-15 | Jan Baars - Civilian | Born 09-09-1877 - Died 10-05-1940. |
Cemetry Dubbeldam
(Zuidendijk 270 - 3319 LK Dordrecht) The court of honor on the General Cemetary in Dubbeldam based on the “Zuidendijk” contains the graves of 26 Dutch soldiers who got killed in action in may 1940. The majority of these KIA, got killed not to far from this cemetary and are probably moved to this cemetary from fieldgraves shortly after the fighting ceased. It is also presumption of the author that many of these graves have been transferred from field graves near the “Tweede Tol”. Photographic evidence suggests that there were at least 17 Dutch field graves present there after may 1940. In the case of Corporal A.P. Abrahamse, Reserve Lieutenant B. Tideman and Corporal J. Wagenaar I can say for sure that they had a field grave between the ‘Nieuwe Rijksweg" and the railroad next to the “Tweede Tol”. Their graves were relocated to the cemetary in Dubbeldam.

Nederlandse oorlogsgraven
Particuliere oorlogsgraven
| Field-Row-Grave | Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| VI-I-28 | Evert Brand - Civilian | Born 11-02-1894 - Died 10-05-1940. |
| VI-I-29 | Lambertus Vermaat - Civilian | Born 23-11-1903 - Died 10-05-1940. |
| VI-I-30 | Jan Vermaat - Civilian | Born 27-05-1910 - Died 10-05-1940. |
| VI-I-31 | Dirk Anthonie Goud - Civilian | Born 27-04-1928 - Died 30-05-1940. |
| VI-I-33 | Joseph Johan Lam - Civilian | Born 08-04-1913 - Died 10-05-1940. |
| VI-I-34 | Marinus Willij van Zwol - Civilian | Born 10-11-1934 - Died 10-05-1940. |
| VI-I-35 | Jan Arie van Vugt - Conscript Corporal MC-II-30 R.I. | Born 03-01-1934 - K.I.A. 24-10-1944. |
| III-A-1-6/7 | Arie van de Merwe - Civilian | Born 28-07-1920 - Executed 29-03-1945. |
Terms and Abbreviations
Pag = Antitank gun
BK = Posthumously awarded the Bronze Cross
BL = Posthumously awarded the Bronze Lion
IM = In Memoriam stone
R.I. = Infantry Regiment
R.A. = Artillery Regiment
Dep Cie Torp = Depot Company Army Maritime Engineers (Torpedisten)
Dep Cie Pont = Depot Company Army Maritime Engineers. (Pontonniers)
G.B. = Border Batalion
R.H.M. = Regiment Hussar motorcycle troops
Pn. Afd. L.D. = Pionier Unit of the Light Division
M.C. = Machinegun Company
R.W. = Regiment Bicycle Infantry
Dep. Bat. = Depot Batalion
Pel. LuMi. = Anti‑Aircraft Machine Gun Platoon
C. Mr. = Mortar Company
C. Pn. = Pioneer Company
Vd/gr = Ferry Service Group
Dekk. Det. W’dorp = Covering Detachment Willemsdorp
VLSK = Voluntary Landstorm Corps
Tr. Det. Stk. L.D. = Troops Detachment of the Light Division Headquarters
Cie. S.G. N.B.S. = Combat Company, Dutch Domestic Forces
