Bernard Dirk Meijer

he Story of Dicky Meijer (Bernard Dirk Meijer) Bernard Dirk Meijer was born on June 19, 1922 in Menado on the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. His father was Frans Meijer (15 Nov 1896, Menado) and his mother was Albertina Korompis (16 Mar 1896, Langowan). He was the first of six children born to these parents (Karel Simon Messias Meijer, Nellie Truitje Meijer, Marie “Rita” Meijer, Daantje Johan Meijer, Henny Frans Albert Meijer). His father was the Head of Finance for the Dutch Government in the colony of the East Indies. The family lived in Menado until at least 1928 when Rita was born. Daantje was born on Madura Island just off Java and the youngest Henny was born in 1935 in Soerabaya in the East side of Java. They moved houses around the colony and took various trips with the entire family to the Netherlands. When the war broke out they returned to the Dutch East Indes living near Java. The Japanese invaded Java and took control the first week of March 1942. Dicky the oldest of the family had photos of training he had completed while in the Dutch East Indies. There is a photo of what I believe to be the Kota Baroe which according to records arrived in Java on 1 Mar 1942 and left Java 2 Mar 1942 and would have been the “Last Convoy” that Dicky was able to escape Japanese occupation. They would have arrived in Colombo, British Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) 10 days later. The end of the ship’s journey would have brought them to England. There is a photo of Dicky Meijer at the RAF Evanton No. 8 Air Gunnery School in Scotland in April and May of 1943. He was listed in June 1943-October 1943 on the RAF roster. He would have joined the RAF 320 squadron made up mostly of Dutch and Dutch East Indies soldiers. His classification was Airman First Class (AC1) and had the job of Radio Operator and Gunner. He would be in the Telegraph Communication position on the Mitchell B-25 bombers and also serve as the gunner during air combat. He is credited with 39 flights. On July 26, 1944, after returning from a bombing raid of fuel storage tanks at Bourron-Marlotte near Fountainebleau in Northern France, a RAF aircraft (Mitchell FR185 NO-Z) of 320 squadron, was hit by flak at 20:03 hrs (GMT) and crashed south of Dreux, France. The crew included F/O George Alexander Van Leeuwen, Sergeant Felix Hendrik Bloemgarten, Sergeant Bernard Dirk Meijer, and Corporal Wilhelmus Hurbertus Willems. A memorial to the entire crew of the RAF 320 squadron Mitchell II 25-D plane NO-Z serial FR185 which included Bernard Dirk Meijer. The plaque is located on the wall of the local church that is in the cemetery in the small village of Châtaincourt, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The plague reads: In memory of the Dutch airmen who fell on July 26, 1944, Felix Hendrick Bloemgarten and his comrades. The church is located at approximately 8 Rue de l'Église, Châtaincourt, France which is about one and a half hours west of Paris. Initially the crew was buried in this cemetery with one of the plane's propellers used as a makeshift gravestone, the bodies were later transferred to the Grebbeberg war cemetery in Rhenen, Netherlands.