The Forgotten Disaster: Unveiling of Monument for Reformed Youth Choir After the Bus Fire – In Association with RTV East and NOS News

In the Overijssel village of Den Ham, a monument will be unveiled today that recalls a deadly fire, exactly 68 years ago. An explosion on a bus during a day out killed two girls and injured many others.

In the area, the accident is known as the “forgotten disaster,” writes RTV East. Riek ten Brinke-Voort (81) is one of the survivors and is happy that there will be a monument. “Not only because the people who can tell about it will no longer be there. But also because it is a nice tribute to the victims.”

On June 11, 1955, the members of the Hervormd Jeugdkoor, together with their master and three other adults, go to a singing competition in Osnabrück, Germany. A journey of about 140 kilometers, but for many of the 43 children the first time they set foot abroad.

Things go wrong in the morning in a suburb of the German city. A leaking jerry can causes an explosion and the bus is soon engulfed in flames. “I was in the front of the bus and fell out. Together with a girlfriend. People immediately came to the rescue. Local residents who, together with the two teachers and the bus driver, tried to smash the windows to get the children out,” recalls Ten Brinke- onward.

Rescuers manage to get most of the children out of the bus, but some of them have severe burns. Two girls die on the spot. Two months later, a boy succumbs to his injuries. Another victim even dies ten years later. “That boy has really been operated on countless times. It was difficult to walk. Despite the fact that it was so much later, he is also a victim of the bus disaster,” says the 81-year-old.

Injured children from Den Ham were taken care of in a German hospital:

The panic in Den Ham is great on the day of the accident, she remembers. “The village was turned upside down. Hardly anyone had a telephone at that time. After the news became known, the mayor, the pastor, the doctor and the parents of the killed and injured children drove to Osnabrück the same day.”

German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Prime Minister Willem Drees express their condolences. Princess Wilhelmina sends a telegram in which she expresses her shock. Queen Juliana calls the mayor to convey her condolences. After that, not much was said about the disaster in the village, says Ten Brinke-Voort. “Well, that’s how it was in those days. I had lost a brother and sister at a young age. You just didn’t talk about that at home.”

A year after the accident, the survivors return to Osnabrück. Among other things, to thank the people who had helped them. “Exactly fifty years after the disaster, in 2005, we went there again with the group. But otherwise very little attention was paid to the accident.”

A motion for a monument in memory of the victims was passed unanimously by the city council of Den Ham. The artwork will be unveiled this afternoon after a memorial service.