Ed has a grip again and encounters ‘shipwreck’ in the Wadden Sea: “It looks like a graveyard there”

Ed Mallekoote now knows what it’s like to find something special on the Helderse beach or the mudflats, but it is now also becoming ‘a little too crazy for words’ for him. The finds do not only increase in numbers, but also in variations. From bones of a hip or lower leg, to parts of what he believes to be an ‘aircraft from the Second World War’.

“Six months ago, grab it, I found the first part that was an airplane tire. Then I came to the conclusion that there had to be a lot more,” says Mallekoote. And that turns out to be true. It raises many questions for him: “Where did it all come from?”

Because Ed also realizes that finding one bot is already a lot. “I feel like I’m walking in a cemetery, there are so many bones there. Something must have happened there, something that nobody knows about.”

‘And then it happened again’

So last week Ed had a bite again. Although he intended to go fishing, he decided to walk a little further. “Once a month, right after the full moon has passed, it’s the lowest tide, I’ll say. And then you can walk even further than where the high tide line normally ends,” he explains.

Along the high tide line he came across an old wooden boat. “The wood was saturated with water and sank as a result. I looked at it again and concluded that it could very well be a boat between two and three hundred years old,” he says.

Whether Ed’s assessment turns out to be true remains to be investigated. The fact remains that it is again a find. And Ed himself did not stay in the cold clothes: “You are a bit dazed and immediately think: this must be salvaged, taken care of.”

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Now a boat, but earlier Ed found a plane wreck and countless bones in the same area. For Ed a matter of ‘one plus one equals two’. “You immediately think: that belongs together,” he says.

Further research into the finds

In the meantime, Ed has handed in most of the finds to the right authorities. For example, the human bones were handed in to the police – who will establish their dating – and the wreckage was sent to the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).

Whether there is actually a connection between the finds remains to be seen. According to Ivo de Jonge, chairman of the 1939-1945 air war study group (SGLO), it is important not to get ahead of things. “The conclusion is actually that many objects were found by Ed, including bones and wreckage, but it is important to wait for the results before drawing any conclusions about the possible connection.”

According to De Jonge, it could also be related to recent storms, as a result of which the current has ensured that many objects have washed ashore.

The finds will first have to be dated and further investigated in order to paint a clear picture of the mutual relationship of the objects. At the moment there are still many question marks. “Based on its first find, the navy will conduct a survey along the coast in May to see if there is still a plane wreck there,” says De Jonge.

According to De Jonge, there is currently ‘no reason to link Ed’s first find to the first wreck of an aircraft wreck’. Serious research is being conducted into a possible wreck that may lie in the Wadden Sea. “The Navy will use sonar to look for a wreckage of a boat or plane and when we have those results, in mid-May, we can say more.”