• N2492

• 504 Squadron

• Vollezele, May 14, 1940 - November 4, 2001
  

We only knew that in May 1940, a British fighter crashed on the hill called the Congoberg at Vollezele. An archaeological investigation was necessary to identify this particular case. BAHAAT was lucky, as during the first minutes when the crater was opened, an identification plate was found with the serial number N2492 on it. But we were confronted with a new mystery : although the villagers confirmed to us that the pilot baled out safely and was taken away by the British troops, the pilot of the N2492, Sgt Stanley Hamblett, is still reported missing. Finally, we were able to reconstruct this story. Stanley Hamblett was slightly wounded and taken back to the coast. He was one of those airmen who went missing during the Dunquerque operation. The ship he boarded was torpedoed or bombed and the pilot who survived at Vollezele, met his end in the waves of the North Sea.

We were glad however that we could trace his relatives, who were relieved that at least they knew what happened to their beloved one.