Ashes interred at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery and other places nearby
A Digital Monument
The Gelders Archives holds a file of the former municipal archives of the city of Renkum. This file includes a number of requests to scatter the ashes of veterans or relatives. The earliest reference in this file dates back to the period some 30 years after the battle was ended (1974). Apparently the formal procedure to get permission to scatter ashes of deceased, or to have ashes interred at the Oosterbeek cemetery, was to first contact the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and then the CWGC would formally ask permission from the Renkum municipal authorities.
Based upon the information included in this file and additional information from the Newsletters of the Society Friend of the Airborne Museum (Stichting Vrienden van het Airborne Museum), books, other publications and the internet, this digital monument was started. With the help of family and friends of veterans the Gallery is extended and additional information is added where possible.
No permanent markings are allowed on the places the ashes are interred or scattered. With this digital monument, the permanent resting places of the veterans is to be remembered and kept for future generations.
As per 23 September 2025, the Gallery page includes the names of 149 veterans interred (or dispersed) at the Oosterbeek cemetery or dispersed on the grounds nearby (Gallery page), as well as details of 10 family members (Others page). Additional information and photographs from the collection of Gerrit Pijpers is added. In total 38 images of liturgy booklet of services and 53 images of interment ceremories (Interments page) have been included. The page Others also mentions 15 names of casualties (re)buried or identified since the 'Roll of Honour' (2011 edition) was published.
With the help of family and friends of these veterans additional information is included where possible. Also links with references to other public sources are included when known.
Previous updates:
23 September: Beekhuizen added
19 September: Larder added + minor updates
2025
3 October: Barclay added
23 September: Williams and Mawdsley added
8 Augustus: Details Hollobone corrected as well as various rank and unit details provided by Hans Doornbos
23 July: Details Beveridge and MacDonald added as well as some minor updates
17 July: Details R.G. Curry added
13 July: Tears without bitterness published
12 May: Oakley, Edwards (R.C.), Smith (W), Buckley and details Tapp and Hancock added
23 April 2024: Tears without bitterness (pdf) published on Facebook
2024
10 December: Details Chandler+Penfold added
9 December: Michie and Berry added
9 December: Details Swift and Garfield added
26 November: Details Henretty added
11 November: Bentley added
11 November: Image Jackson added
4 November: Unknown veteran 4 added
4 November: Info McCready and Stewart
29 October: Details on Spivey added
28 October: Announcement (FB): Tears without bitterness
2 October: Kelly, Owen, Ranner, Smart added
22 September: E.F. Brindley added
15 September: John J. Bosley added
28 April: Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Bowler added
14 January: James (Jimmy) Jones added
2023
7 November: Ernest G. Read added
1 November: Frederick V. Moore added
6 October: George Edward Kay added
1 October: Details on Horsfield are added
30 September: Info Chalkley added
30 September: Info O'Callaghan added
24 September: FB page Ashes at Oosterbeek
18 September: Updates from Philip Reinders
17 September: Richards, Jeffries, Fuller added
28 August: William Warnes added
17 May: Wally Morton (1981) added
30 April: Shem Jackson (1963) added
23 April: Order of Service Ager & Lowery (1993)
4 March: Thomas Courtie added
2022
16 October: Liturgy Derrick A. Bourne added
3 October: Ashington and Blain added
2 October: Roy S. White added to the Gallery
1 October: Article 30 July, De Gelderlander
30 September: Details Cox+Dunn-Butler added
7 September: Robert Laing added
28 August: Details Bourne and Lewis added
29 March: Frank Burton added to the Gallery
2021
15 November: David Allan added to the Gallery
9 November: photos and details driver Parkinson
13 October: gunner Kendall added
1 October: (Re)burials + identifications added
30 september: Allen+Johnston added in Others
26 september: George Cox added to Gallery
23 september: Interment Scott / Eastwood (image)
9 september: 'A distinct tradition' page added
7 September: Vincent Banks added to the Gallery
31 August: 4 names added from Renkum Archives
30 August: Images of the interment of W.L. Walsh
26 August: 8 names added from Renkum Archives
23 August: 100 veterans names on website!!
20 July - 7 August: Collection Gerrit Pijpers added
11 July 2020: 99 verterans and 5 others
9 July 2020: 98 veterans and 4 others
3 July 2020: 96 veterans and 4 others
2 July 2020: 95 veterans and 4 others
30 June 2020: 95 veterans and 2 others
28 June 2020: 94 veterans and 1 other
27 June 2020: 94 veterans
27 June 2020: Interments and other pages added
24 June 2020: 88 veterans
22 June 2020: 87 veterans
Image on the right: Painting by Herman Romijn
To be able to communicate updates to the websites and have a more interactive platform for interested family-members and others, the Ashes at Oosterbeek Facebook page is created in September 2022.
You can use the button below to open the Ashes at Oosterbeek FB page.
Tears without bitterness
Booklet (privately published on 13 July 2024
Tears without bitterness
The booklet Tears without Bitterness, a memorial guide to remember all veterans that have their ashes interred at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, is published with the help of Lt – Col. (Retd) Gerrit Pijpers OBE Royal Netherlands Airforce, Reverend Dr Jeff C. Cuttell and six families of Arnhem veterans:
• Pte J.J. Bosley – Christine Bosley
• Pte F.J. Collopy – Margaret Shaw
• Serg N.F. Dellar – Gill Tagg
• Pte H.C. Ennis – Leslie Ennis
• Pte J. Maguire – Christopher Maguire
• Pte L. Scott – Jan Scott
Ever since the 1970s veterans and family members of war casualties buried in Oosterbeek have been requesting local authorities and the CWGC, to have their ashes buried in Dutch soil. Close to their comrades, husbands or sons. Without a permanent marker or register. This guide including a cemetery plan shows the exact plots where over 140 veterans have been interred in the last 50 years.
This limited edition booklet (including the flyer) is privately published and can be ordered by leaving a comment below this post, in which you indicate you want to buy one (only one per order). You will be contacted by Messenger to receive payment and shipping details.
The price excluding postage & package is € 16,75 (NL: banktransfer / outside NL: Paypall).
The booklet (and flyer) will only be shipped as:
• NL with T&T : € 4,95
• UK with T&T : € 12,00
Lest we forget!
A free digital copy of the flyer can be obtained by liking the Facebook page Ashes at Oosterbeek and leaving a comment below the next post: Ashes at Oosterbeek (plan):
Thank you Michel van der Wardt at www.wardt.nu
Not all veterans had their ashes interred or scattered on the Oosterbeek Airborne cemetery. Also the dropping- and landingzones or other places in and around Oosterbeek have been used to scatter the ashes of veterans. The names of these men are included in the Gallery as well.
Image: Gelders Archief 1560-5035 Landingzones near Wolfheze
On 30 November 2020 the grand-daughter of 'Sammy' Black send us this heartbreaking letter. Thank you Rosie!
This is exactly the reason for this website, remembering all veterans and others, with no permanent marking or other means of identification interred at (or near) the Oosterbeek War Cemetery. Always rememberred.
The letter to Richard 'Sammy' Black.
De Gelderlander
The Dutch newspaper De Gelderlander published an article on the website on July 30, 2021.
The article is was also published on the website of De Gelderlander
Lt - Col (Retd)
Gerrit Pijpers
OBE RNLAF
Image above: Final Salute to George Gatland - 18 September 1998
After the website was started Gerrit Pijpers offered his help and support to complete the data on the website as much as possible. Gerrit Pijpers was born in Heelsum in 1957 and from 1975 until 2009 he has been involved in the organisation of the annual Airborne Memorial Service. Now he lives in Oosterbeek.
In the mid-1990s he met a family on the Airborne Cemetery waiting for the CWGC gardener to assist with the interment of the ashes of an Arnhem veteran. Without words, without ceremony, without flowers or a moment of silence, the ashes were buried. Somewhat cold and apparently without respect for the man that risked his life in September 1944 and fought for our freedom, this man would find his final resting place at the Oosterbeek Airborne Cemetery. In 1998 Gerrit Pijpers started helping relatives organizing the interments of their brother, father, grandfather or uncle in a somewhat more respectful way.
In co-operation with the family, a British clergyman (preferably attached to the Parachute Regiment or Airborne Forces), a bugler (preferably a military) and some standard-bearers, over the last 20 years, he has helped organizing some 40 interments. For each service a liturgy booklet was created. Colonel Pijpers offers his services for free.
Some decades after the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery was established, the first interment on the cemetery grounds took place. At first these interments took place on the grass directly left and right when entering the Airborne cemetery.
In the 1980s these grounds were full and as of then, the veterans’ ashes were interred behind the headstones. The first interment behind a headstone was the plot of private Robert Boott, 2nd (Airborne) Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment (plot 27.C.1).
Over the last 20 years Gerrit Pijpers was involved in the following services at the Oosterbeek Airborne War Cemetery:
1998 2 2009 1 2020 -
1999 3 2010 2 2021 -
2000 2 2011 3 2022 2*
2001 2 2012 - 2023 1
2002 1 2013 3
2003 1 2014 2
2004 1 2015 3
2005 1 2016 1
2006 3 2017 -
2007 1 2018 1
2008 4 2019 2
* In 2022 Gerrit Pijpers was involved in two of the three interments on 16th September 2022. For the interment of John Jeffries a full service, including a liturgy booklet, was prepared. For the interment of Les Fuller, Pijpers and Cuttell were involved as well (without a liturgy booklet).
Gerrit Pijpers was so kind to support this Digital Monument and he agreed that parts of his collection could be made public.
Commemorations 2022
In 2022, on September 16th, the ashes of three veterans were interred at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemery. On the 18th September 2022 the commemorative service took place and was broadcasted by Omroep Gelderland. This broadcast started with an interview of Gerrit Pijpers, referring to all the soldiers buried in Oosterbeek and all the veterans interred behind the headstones. A link to Omroep Gelderland can be found here:
https://youtu.be/moFP3I79ffU
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Philip Reinders for sharing the files from the Renkum archives and lots of details with respect to the veterans. Also Ramon de Heer contributed lots of details and photographs with respect to the veterans of The Glider Pilot Regiment.
This website is further created with the help of the following:
Ria Aalbers, Janine Adnett, Algemeen Dagblad, Airbornesappers.org.uk, alondoninheritance.com, The Arnhem Cloggers (FB), Arnhem Veterans Merseyside (FB), BBC, Bob Bailey, Sue Beare, David Berry, Debbie Betts, Jennifer Boekhorst, Christina Bosley, Alan S. Bourne, Bridges to Arnhem (FB), John Brinders Brindley, Luuk Buist, Chalk Living History, chroniclelive.co.uk, Richy Clatworthy, Commonwealth War Grave Commission, Cornwall Advertiser, Rosie Currie, Bartłomiej Czarny, Hans Doornbos, Sally Dyos, The Eagle, Tony Ellis, Harold Ennis, Leslie Ennis, Gerald Faithorn, Friends of the Tenth (FB), Gazellesquadron, de Gelderlander, Gelders Archief, Jaap van Genderen, Marion Gerritsen - Teunissen, Erik Hakemulder, Jim Herriot, Hoog en Laag, Arjan Jansen, Mr Jinks (Kyle), Helen Kelly, Maggie King, family Kleijn, Emma de Kwant, Joop de Lange, Leicesterparas.org.uk, Barry Lewis, Geert Maassen, Christopher Maguire, Josua Makoul, Graham Mawdsley, Judith Minkman, Tony Moran, Colin Moore, Mateusz Mroz, Cilla Nash, Nieuwsbrieven / Newsletters (Vereniging Vrienden van het Airborne Museum), Northumbrian Gunner, Pathfinder Parachute group UK (FB group), Paradata, Paul Pariso, Pegasusarchive.org, Gerrit Pijpers, Patrick J. Pronk, Ted Read, Philip Reinders, Berry de Reus, Jan Scott, Natasha Semmens, Margaret Shaw, Sandra Shurbourne, Robert Sigmond, Janine Sluiters, Gill Tagg, De Telegraaf, The Telegraph, Willem Tiemens, Roy Ralph Tolhurst (+), Turbantia, Max Verhoef, Veterans of Arnhem (FB), Peter Vrolijk, warcemeteries.nl, Arno de Vries, Arjan Vrieze, Het Vrije Volk, Robert Ward, Grahame Warner, Warrington Guardian, Ron Wenting, Western Telegraph, Erwin Wiesenfeld, Hans Wiggers, Erny van Wijk, Terry Williams, worcestershireregiment.com, ww2talk.com, E.J.J. van Zoelen.
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