Map key:	Cemetery:	Town:
1	Reichswald Forest War Cemetery	Kleve
2	Sage War Cemetery	Oldenburg
3	Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery	Berlin

1 – Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery was created after the Second World War when burials were brought in from all over western Germany and is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the country.

There are now 7,594 Commonwealth World War 2 servicemen buried or commemorated in the cemetery, of which 176 are unidentified and 78 are of other nationalities. Of those buried here 3,971 of these are airmen. Some of the airmen buried in the cemetery lost their lives in supporting the advance into Germany, but most died earlier in the war in the intensive air raids over Germany.

Their graves were brought in from cemeteries and isolated sites in the surrounding area.

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Six Czechoslovak RAF airmen are buried here, their Wellington, KX-L R1015 had taken-off from East Wretham, at 19:55, for a bombing raid on Hamburg. It was hit by flak over Holland causing the aircraft to crash at Andervenne, 17 km EastSouthEast of Lingen-Ems, Germany.

The crew were initially buried at Neuer Friedhof and, after the war, reinterred at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. Their grave ref: collective grave 27, row F, 12-15.

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BABÍČEK Zdeněk, 21, Sgt, 311 Sqn., Air Gunner

* 07/11/19, Brno

† 15/09/41, Andervenne, Germany

A symbolic urn, No 22, is also interred at the Airman’s Memorial, Prostějov, Czech Republic

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JARNOT Alois, 23, Sgt, 311 Sqn., Air Gunner

* 16/06/18, Karviná, Český Těšín

† 15/09/41, Andervenne, Germany

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MIKLOŠEK Ján, 25, Sgt, 311 Sqn., Pilot

* 01/02/16, Galanta, Velký Diosek

† 15/09/41, Andervenne, Germany

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SEDLÁČEK Mojmír, 27, Sgt, 311 Sqn., Navigator

* 14/11/13, Hradec Králové, Dohalice

† 15/09/41, Andervenne, Germany

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SOUKUP Vilém, 27, Sgt, 311 Sqn., Pilot

* 14/11/13, Hradec Králové, Dohalice

† 15/09/41, Andervenne, Germany

A symbolic urn, No 25, is also interred at the Airman’s Memorial, Prostějov, Czech Republic

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ZIMMER Antonín, 27, Sgt, 311 Sqn., Wireless Operator

* 14/11/13, Hradec Králové, Dohalice

† 15/09/41, Andervenne, Germany

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Visiting information here

Location Information:

The Reichswald Forest War Cemetery is located at Kleve in the west of Germany close to the Dutch border, approx 130kms to the north west of Koln, and approx 25kms to the south east of Nijmegen. From the A57 motorway Koln to Goch take exit 2 (Ausfahrt 2) KLEVE / GOCH-WEST and follow the signs for KLEVE. After approx 2kms turn left onto the B504 and follow the direction KRANENBURG. Continue for approx 7kms and then turn right (CWGC sign) onto the GRUNEWALDSTRASSE, direction KLEVE Continue for approx 3.5kms and the cemetery can be found on the right.

Address:	Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Grunewaldstrasse 47533 Kleve Germany.
GPS Location:	N 51 44 21, E 06 04 48
Map Location:	View

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2 – Sage War Cemetery, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen.

Sage was on the line of the Allied advance across northern Germany in 1945 but most of those buried at Sage War Cemetery were airmen lost in bombing raids over northern Europe whose graves were brought in from cemeteries in the Frisian Islands and other parts of north-west Germany. Sage War Cemetery contains 948 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 158 of them unidentified. There are also 23 war graves of other nationalities, most of them Polish.

At 22:52 on the night of 19 July 1941, Wellington bomber, R1371 KX-F of 311 Sqn, took-off from East Wretham for a bombing raid on Hanover. During the flight radio silence was maintained and the aircraft never returned. It is assumed that the aircraft had been damaged by flak or mechanical problems. The aircraft crashed into the Zuiderzee, north of Uithuizermeeden.

Sgt Miroslav Jindra is buried at Uithuizermeeden General Cemetery, Holland.

The bodies of Sgt Pavel Babáček, Sgt Jan Čtvrtlík and Sgt Václav Valeš were never found and they are commemorated on panel’s 30, 42 and 54 respectively at the Runnymede Memorial, UK.

Some time later the body of P/O Jaroslav Partyk was washed ashore on the German island of Borkum. Initially he was buried in the local Lutherian cemetry and post war re-interred at Sage War Cemetry.

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PARTYK Jaroslav, 24, P/O, 311 Sqn., Navigator

* 16/12/16, Rakovník

† 20/07/41, Rottum, Holland

Grave ref: 7. F. 4

A symbolic urn, No 87, is also interred at the Airman’s Memorial, Prostějov, Czech Republic

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Location Information:

The small village of Sage lies in the north of Germany approx 56kms west of Bremen. From the A1 motorway Bremen to Osnabruck take exit 61 (Ausfahrt 61) WILDENHAUSEN-WEST / AHLHORN and follow direction B213 AHLHORN. Continue along the B213 for approx 8kms and go through the village of AHLHORN. Turn right at the roundabout direction L870 OLDENBURG (CWGC sign) and continue along the OLDENBURGERSTRASSE. The road name then changes to SAGERSTRASSE for approx 4kms. The cemetery can be found on the left.

Address:	Sage War Cemetery, Sagerstrasse 26197 Grossenkneten-Sage, Germany.
GPS Location:	N 52 56 12, E 08 12 30
Map Location:	View

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3 – Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Berlin.

The site of Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery was selected by the British Occupation Authorities and Commission officials jointly in 1945, soon after hostilities ceased.

Graves were brought to the cemetery from the Berlin area and from eastern Germany*. The great majority of those buried here, approximately 80 per cent of the total, were airmen who were lost in the air raids over Berlin and the towns in eastern Germany. The remainder were men who died as prisoners of war, some of them in the forced march into Germany from camps in Poland, in front of the advancing Russians.

The cemetery contains 3,595 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 397 of them unidentified.

There are also 6 Non Commonwealth Foreign National burials and in addition there are 265 post war graves of men of the British Occupation Forces or their dependants, or of members of the Control Commission.

* Leipzig, Konigsberg, Iena, Dresden, Halle, Rostock, Teltow, Wismar, Mittenwalde, Neuburxdorf, Magdeburg, Grunberg, Doberitz, Buchholz, Halberstadt, Blankenburg, Gotha, Tannenburg, Potsdam, Weder, Tessau, Stralsund, Schweren, Munsdorf, Brandenburg and Schonwalde.

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BLÁHA Oldřich Dennis, DFM, 21, F/O, 44 Sqn., Air Bomber

* 1922, London

† 02/01/44, Berlin

Killed in Lancaster W4831 on bombing raid over Berlin.

Grave ref: Collective grave 2. C. 7-10

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Visiting information: here

Location Information:

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and lies in the north east of the country.
From the A2 HANNOVER to BERLIN motorway follow the A10 BERLINER RING direction PRENZLAU / HAMBURG.
Continue for approx 27kms and take exit 26 (Ausfahrt 26) B5 BERLIN / SPANDAU.
Continue for approx 17kms following the signs for CHARLOTTENBURG along the HAMBURGER CHAUSSEE, which then becomes the HEERSTRASSE.
The cemetery can be found by turning right onto the parallel HEERSTRASSE road (CWGC sign) and continue for 300m.

Address:	Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Heerstrasse 26197, Westend, Berlin, Germany.
GPS Location:	+52° 30′ 26″, +13° 13′ 27″
Map Location:	View

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The assistance of Ministerstvo obrany České republiky [Ministry of Defence, Czech Republic], the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The War Graves Photographic Project and other valued contributors, with this article, is very much appreciated.

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