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 94 war graves. The majority of the graves are Dutch war graves. Of the 79 Dutch graves on the court of honor, 68 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
Engelse oorlogsgraven.
| Row-Grave | Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| A-1 | James Albert Lambert - The Lincolnshire Regiment | Geboren xx-xx-1913 - gesneuveld 01-10-1944 |
| A-2 | George Henry Walding - 7th Battalion The Seaforth Highlanders | Geboren xx-xx-1909 - gesneuveld 29-09-1944 |
| A-3 | Henry John Anthony Thicknesse - Royal Artillery and command and staff | Geboren 31-12-1900 - gesneuveld 23-10-1944 |
| A-4 | Alan Edward Sentance - 1st Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment | Geboren 28-05-1924 - gesneuveld 26-10-1944 |
| A-5 | Stanley Ernest Head - 7th Battalion The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment ( West Riding ) | Geboren xx-xx-1926 - gesneuveld 31-10-1944 |
| A-6 | Kenneth Edward Button - Pilot Warrant Officer Royal Airforce ( V.R. 257 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-xxxx - gesneuveld 20-01-1945 |
| A-7 | Leslie Mathers Gill - Air Gunner Sergeant Royal Air Force ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren 21-04-1908 - gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-8 | Eric John Smalldon - Air Gunner Sergeant Royal Air Force ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren 20-10-1922 - gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-9 | Roy Whittington - Flight Engineer Sergeant Royal Air Force ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-1924 - gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-10 | David Selwyn Thomas - Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Flying Officer RAF ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-1927 - gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-11 | James Edward Brown - Air Bomber Flying Officer Royal Air Force ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-1921 - gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-12 | Harry Johnson - Navigator Flying Officer Royal Air Force ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-1911 - gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-13 | Paul William Tooley - Pilot Flying Officer Royal Air Force ( V.R. 90 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-xxxx- gesneuveld 16-09-1944 |
| A-14 | Hrin Yain Lao - Pilot Flight Lieutenant Royal Air Force ( V.R. 257 Sqdn) | Geboren xx-xx-1925 - gesneuveld 20-01-1945 |
| A-15 | Arthur Gordon Richardson - Pilot Flight Lieutenant Royal Air Force ( V.R. 127 Sqdn ) | Geboren xx-xx-1918 - gesneuveld 22-01-1945 |
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
Terms and Abbreviations
Pag = Pantser Afweer Geschut.
BK = Postuum onderscheiden met het Bronzen Kruis.
BL = Postuum onderscheiden met de Bronzen Leeuw.
IM = In Memoriam steen.
R.I. = Regiment Infanterie. Dep Cie Torp = Depot Compagnie Torpedisten. G.B. = Grens Bataljon.
R.A. = Regiment Artillerie. Dep Cie Pont = Depot Compagnie Pontonniers. Pn. Afd. L.D. = Pionier Afdeling Lichte. Divisie.
R.W. = Regiment Wielrijders. R.H.M. = Regiment Huzaren Motorrijders. Pel. LuMi. = Peloton Luchtdoel Mitrailleurs. M.C. = Mitrailleur Compagnie. C. Pn. = Compagnie Pioniers. Dep. Bat. = Depot Bataljon.
Vd/gr = Veerdienst Groep. C. Mr. = Compagnie Mortieren.
Dekk. Det. W’dorp = Dekkings Detachement Willemsdorp.
VLSK = Vrijwillig landstorm korps.
Tr. Det. Stk. L.D. = Troepen Detachement Stafkwartier Lichte Divisie.
Cie. S.G. N.B.S. = Compagnie Strijdend Gedeelte Nederlandse Binnelandse Strijdkrachten.
