Map 11. Hullavington, Wiltshire, GB

The crash site has not been pinpointed.

Added by Stefan Pietrzak Youngs 2023-04-18

Vincent Dominicus Joseph Jansen: The death of a warm person

Vincent Jansen, there was life in it. His life was short - it lasted less than 21 years - but in those years he experienced more than many who grew much older. School was not much for him, but he had already seen a lot of Europe before the war. By bike.

He cycled through Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

Along the way, he learned at least two things. That the Netherlands was a good country. And that a different culture of a country need not be a reason to go to war with such a country. He knew what Nazi Germany was up to. However, that did not make him an enemy of German people in general. But when the Netherlands was overrun by the Germans in May 1940, his choice was quickly made. To England and then fight the Nazis.

Vincent Jansen was an adventurous boy. On his bicycle he traveled in Europe through city and country. His budget was limited so the lodgings along the way were not always top quality. Mended, dingy sheets, hunger, thirst, homesickness, all that came his way. He learned that things were not so badly organized in the Netherlands, but if he had been given the chance, he might have continued to travel for a lifetime.

His travels were adventurous. Somewhere in the section of an Austrian mountain, his bicycle brake failed. He saved his life by jumping off his bike. Then it was walking further, although that was, he wrote later, in a beautiful environment. He was near Innsbruck, wanted to go home and still had a quarter in his pocket. Even just before the war you couldn't break any pots with that, but what happened? Suddenly he saw his brother and sister driving on the other side of the road. They were also on the road. On a motorcycle. He was able to borrow five Marks from them. You went further with that.

In his diary entries and other private papers, Vincent showed that he knew perfectly well what was happening in Europe. He understood what was at stake in the war. He was not yet 19 years old in May 1940, but he set off with his brother Henri. From the parental home in Ginneken to England. Through France, Spain and Portugal to England and do pilot training there. Such a trip was not a holiday trip. Soon the German occupiers made it difficult for the arriving Engelandvaarders. At one point, the brothers even had to continue separated. Later they found each other again. Vincent and Henri were not made for a baby and in October 1940 they reached England. There Henri joined the army and Vincent joined the air force, the pilot training. The brothers in England liked it, though they never forgot why they were there. In letters to the Netherlands we read about meeting distant relatives who had emigrated earlier. Incidentally, those letters were deliberately kept vague. The Germans weren't that keen on postal secrecy and you didn't have to make them wiser than they already were.

In early 1942, Vincent would be appointed as a pilot. The theoretical training had already been successfully completed. That must have been quite a task for him, because he was more interested in the outdoors and in practice than in textbooks.

And then, during a training flight on September 1, 1941, the worst happened to him. The records are vague about what exactly happened. Vincent flew the plane. Somewhere in the pieces there is mention of a fainting in flight. In retrospect, the family believes that the car and sea sickness, which he had always suffered from, may have been the cause of the accident. Be that as it may, Vincent Jansen would not fulfill his dream of fighting the Germans. He died two days before his 21st birthday. In the days leading up to that, he must have thought that he would celebrate that birthday under special circumstances. But he wouldn't turn 21. A young life, the life of a warm person, broken in the bud. His parents, brothers and sisters in Ginneken, they had to continue with the loss. Just some pictures and a grave. A few days after Vincent's death, she heard the terrible news. Henri had passed it on to Mr. Bernard in Barcelona. Henri and Vincent knew him from Breda through their father. They stayed with him for a while during their journey and he helped them on their journey. Mr. Bernard telegraphed the Gyr family, the closest neighbors of the Jansen family. They informed sister Constance. who was soon able to inform the rest of the family. A requiem mass for Vincent was held on 10 September in the parish church of Saint Laurentius in Ginneken. But it wasn't until November 22 that the family received its official death notice from the International Red Cross.

The family has drawn strength from their faith. One of the texts in the obituary reads:

For Your faithful Lord, life is changed, not cut off. And when the habitation they inhabit on earth is dissolved, an eternal dwelling place is obtained in heaven.

Vincent Jansen was interred on September 7, 1941 at Chippenham Cemetery. In a simple grave. A sober cross, name, rank and that was it. The War Graves Foundation replaced the simple cross with a beautiful monument. His name is also mentioned on the memorial stone on the Dutch military cemetery in Mill Hill and on the 'Memory of Aviation' at the former Soesterberg airbase.

They are memories of a warm person, a boy who was willing to fight the good fight, but just didn't get round to that fight. He rest in peace.

Source: Written by Piet Kralt, based on notes from sister-in-law Maria J.R. Jansen-Tacke

Posted by Coordinator Archive War Graves Foundation on July 28, 2020