Willem Hijkoop and Anton-Marie ten Herkel Memorial

Two bronze plaques mounted on a stone wall mark where Dutch airmen Willem Hijkoop and Anton-Marie ten Herkel died when their Lockheed Hudson crashed near St Andrews in January 1941. The memorial sits quietly beside a country lane, easily missed unless you're specifically looking for it.

History enthusiasts will appreciate this small but poignant reminder of wartime Scotland. The airmen were part of the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service, training with the RAF when their aircraft went down during a routine flight. It's a sobering moment that takes perhaps ten minutes to read and reflect.

Families might find it a brief educational stop rather than a destination in itself. The location is peaceful but there's nothing else to see here - just the memorial and surrounding countryside. Free to visit, naturally, though parking is limited to roadside spaces.

Perfectly positioned for those staying at nearby holiday parks like St Andrews Holiday Park or Craigtoun Meadows, it makes sense as part of a broader exploration of the area's wartime heritage. St Andrews itself is only a few minutes' drive away, so you could easily combine this with a visit to the historic university town. Worth a brief detour if you're in the area and have an interest in aviation history, but not something to plan a whole trip around.