Oude Willem is a neighborhood in the municipality of Westerveld, in the Dutch province of Drenthe. The neighborhood is officially under Diever. There is also a road Oude Willem in the municipality Ooststellingwerf. This road is located next to the Drentse neighborhood.
Oude Willem is located in the middle of the Drents-Friese Wold National Park. In 2008 it has predominantly an agricultural function and tourist function. In the future, this place must make for new nature. This also to restore the original water supply of the Vledder Aa. However, there is much resistance here.
Near Oud Willem lies the nature reserve of 75 hectares of the Hoekenbrink. Staatsbosbeheer has cut many trees here with the intention of transforming the area from a sandy plain into a hedge field.
In the woods near Old Willem there is a memorial for the crew of a Canadian plane crashed on that site on November 22, 1943. The plane was part of a group of 776 bombers, of which 764 were Berlin and 12 Leverkusen. The plane had risen at 16.33 in England and was shot by a German night hunter around 19:00. The seven crew members (6 Canadians and 1 Brit) came alive and buried at the General Cemetery in Diever.
