Each of the seven basalt blocks holds the name of one of the British bomber’s seven crew members.
A local lifeboat discovered the aeroplane by accident in the lake four kilometres east of Marken.
The Aircraft Recovery Group 1940-1945 salvaged part of the wreckage and recognised it as
originating from a Short Stirling bomber. Initially it was thought to have come from the Short Stirling
bomber with serial number BK 710 which had been missing since 25 May 1943.
In remembrance of the BK 710 crew, a memorial was unveiled in Marken on 11 November 2011.
In 2019, following further investigation, it was discovered that the wreckage was not part of the BK
710 but the BK 716. The latter was shot down on 29 March 1943 over the Ijsselmeer at night.
As a result of these findings, in 2020 the memorial in Marken was adjusted accordingly.
The BK710 previously referred to was shot down over the North Sea on 25 May 1943 by a German
Nightfighter, 40 kilometres north of Texel. Six of the seven BK710 crew members are still missing;
only Rear Gunner Sergeant C.J. Percival was found and buried in Hamburg in 1943.
In Marken, the Short Stirling BK 710 crew are commemorated, their names inscribed in the
aforementioned basalt blocks, as they too died for our freedom.
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