Historic walking route Jolly Duck Zoetermeer
Zoetermeer, South Holland, The Netherlands
Hiking route: 1324392
Provided by: Dennie, Zuid-Holland
13.8 km
03:26 h
783 kcal
1 m
Description
On February 22, 1945, the'Jolly Duck\\\' plane made an emergency landing in the Geerpolder near Zoetermeer after a bombing raid on Germany. The nine crew members of the B-24 Liberator immediately fled in all directions. However, four crew members were immediately captured by the Germans. Four others found a hiding place that same day. The ninth crew member, John McCormick, a twenty-three-year-old air gunner from Pennsylvania, was discovered by a farmer on February 26, 1945, in a haystack of a farm on Zegwaartseweg.
The Zoetermeer resistance then housed him in a hunting lodge in Zevenhuizen, where he was killed on April 29, 1945, after an invasion by the Germans.
Historic places:
- Junction 69: After John McCormick and Jacob van Rij were killed during the raid on the Jachthuis, they are temporarily buried in Zevenhuizen. At the place where you are now, to the left of the Oude Kerk, both men were reburied with great honor on 31 October 1945. John McCormick was an only child. His father had the explicit wish to bury his son in Zoetermeer. The children of De Jacobsvlinder primary school still place a flower arrangement every month.
- Junction 62, 4.6km: on your left you will see the'De Nieuwe Polder\\\' pumping station from 1877. The Van der Velden family lived here during the war years. The current recreational lake Noord Aa was a vast polder landscape and an ideal place for the Royal Air Force to drop weapons. The Zoetermeer resistance, with the help of brother and sister Jaap and Sien van der Velden, kept watch every night from August to October 1944 with lamps. In this way they gave a signal to the planes to drop the weapons. Unfortunately, no dropping took place and the Zoetermeer resistance had to get their weapons in a different way.
- 5.7km: You are currently at the crash site where the B-24 Liberator'Jolly Duck\\\' made an emergency landing on February 22, 1945 at 3:14 PM. On February 26, 1945, the Royal Air Force decided to destroy the wreck to prevent it from being used by the Germans. The'Jolly Duck\\\' was fired upon by English Spitfires around 4:00 PM that day. Unfortunately, not only the plane was hit, but also children who were playing in the wreckage. Jopie and Gerrie van Bemmelen lost their lives. Maria den Elsen-Zonderop, who was watching from the front of the wreck, was also killed. Martinus Janson, the owner of the farm, was hit by the shrapnel of the Spitfires' exploding ammunition. He also died in this. A German soldier was also killed during the attack, but no further information is known about this. At the gate of the farm you will find a sign with further information.
- 6.9km: The clipped windmill you see here is known as the Mill of Spijker and dates from 1759. At this point, John McCormick asked for directions to Rotterdam, knowing that the Allies were beyond Rotterdam. The owner of the mill told him to walk straight on to Benthuizen. There he had to follow the bend onto the Zegwaartseweg. After this, John McCormick left for Zoetermeer.
- 11.6km: you are now on Zegwaartseweg no. 46, where the farm of the brothers Jan and Leen Dogterom used to be. John McCormick was discovered by Jan Dogterom on February 26, 1945, in the haystack behind the Witpen building. John was brought into the farm of the Dogterom brothers, after which the resistance was alerted. That same evening Mr Lodewijk came to pick up John. He took John on the back of his bicycle to his house in the Molenstraat.
- 13.0km: John McCormick spent the night at Molenstraat 112/114 before being transferred to the Jachthuis in Zevenhuizen.
This walking route with historical information is based on a cycling route made possible by the Floravontuur Promotion Zoetermeer foundation and the makers of the website www.jollyduck.com.
Height Profile
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Below you will find various suggestions for breaks that you can visit during your route. These are divided into different categories, making it easy for you to choose.
Sights
Directions
| # | Description | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorpsstraat, 2712AN, Zoetermeer, South Holland, The Netherlands | 0.00 km | ||
69 | 69 (Dorpsstraat, 2712AD, Zoetermeer, South Holland, The Netherlands) | 0.28 km | |
62 | 62 (2725BX, Zoetermeer, South Holland, The Netherlands) | 4.68 km | |
| Bietenveld (Geerweg, 2381LW, Zoeterwoude, South Holland, The Netherlands) | 5.69 km | ||
32 | 32 (2731BA, Alphen aan den Rijn, South Holland, The Netherlands) | 9.30 km | |
| Dorpsstraat, 2712AN, Zoetermeer, South Holland, The Netherlands | 13.79 km |
Place name directory
Reviews
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