Operation: Operation Nickel, Ruhr, Germany

Date: 8th/9th September 1939 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit No: 102 (Ceylon) Squadron, 4 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Whitley III

Serial: K8950

Code: DY:M

Base: RAF Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire

Location: Near Kassel, Germany

Pilot: Sqn Ldr. Sydney Stuart Murray 26117 RAF Age 30. PoW No. 60 * (1)

2nd Pilot: Flt Lt. Alfred Burke Thompson 39585 RAF Age 24. PoW No. 59 * (2)

Observer: Sgt. Clement Ambrose Hill 580896 RAF Age 18. PoW No. 2 ** (3)

Air Gnr: Sgt. Sydney Alexander Burry 524802 RAF Age 24. PoW No. 1 *** (4)

Air Gnr (Tail): AC1. Peter Frederick Pacey 567315 RAF Age 21. PoW No. 3 *** (5)

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland.

** Stalag Luft 6, Heydekrug, Memelland (now Šilutė in Lithuania).

*** Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland.

REASON FOR LOSS:

K8950 took-off at 23:55 hrs and was one of twelve (12) aircraft tasked on a Nickel mission to the Rhur, six (6) each from 77 Squadron and 102 Squadron.

It is believed that K8950 to have been hit by Flak over Thuringia and crashing near Kassel in Germany. The crew successfully baled out and were captured near Langensalza that day, and became the first complete bomber crew to be taken into captivity.

Above 102 Sqn Whitleys at RAF Driffield

Above: Flt Lt. Alfred B. Thompson on the right with Sqn Ldr. Sydney S. Murray with Luftwaffe guards.

After being captured the crew were split up with Sqn Ldr. Murray and Flt Lt. Thompson being transported to Berlin arriving there on the 10th September, were they were interrogated by Luftwaffe Intelligence staff. They met with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and were photographed for propaganda purposes.

Both airmen were sent to Oflag 10A at Itzehöe near Hamburg on the12th September. On the 16th October 1939 they were transferred to Oflag 9A/H, Schloss Spangenberg (Spangenberg Castle) in the small town of Spangenberg in NE Hesse, Prussia.

On the 4th March 1941 they were transferred to Stalag 20A in Thorn (Toruń), Poland and on the 3rd June 1941 they were returned to Oflag 9A/H. On the 10th October 1941 they were transferred to Oflag 6B near Warburg and finally on the 12th July 1942 they were transferred to Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan.

Meanwhile Sgt. Hill and Burry were sent to Stalag 11A at Altengrabow arriving there on the 11th September 1939. On the 27th October 1939 they were sent to Stalag 7A in Moosburg and on the 13th November 1939 they were transferred to Oflag 9A/H, Schloss Spangenberg (Spangenberg Castle) in the small town of Spangenberg in NE Hesse, Prussia.

(1) Early in April 1943 the Senior British Officer (SBO) Grp Capt. Herbert Martin Massey, 4128 RAF, received a message from the Camp Kommandant, Luftwaffe Oberstleutnant Korda, requesting him to visit him accompanied by his interpreter. Sqn Ldr. Murray, who was a fluent German speaker, accompanied him. It was at this meeting that they were informed of the shooting of the fifty (50) officers. (Ref 1, p. 213).

On the night of the 27th January 1945, with Soviet troops only 26 km (16 mls) away, orders were received to evacuate the PoWs to Spremberg which is to the West in Germany. The PoW’s were informed of the evacuation, which was on foot, at about 22:00 hrs the same night and were given 30 mins to pack and prepare everything for the March. The weather conditions were very difficult, with freezing temperatures, and it was snowing accompanied by strong winds. There was 15 cm (6 in) of snow and 2000 PoWs were assigned to clear the road ahead of the main groups.

After a 55 km (34 mls) march, the PoWs arrived in Bad Muskau where they rested for 30 hours. The PoWs were then marched the remaining 26 km (16 mls) to Spremberg where they were housed in empty garages, storerooms and in military barracks. There they were provided with warm soup and bread.

During next days, PoWs were divided up according to Compounds, and they were led to railway sidings and loaded into tightly packed carriages. On the 2nd February Sqn Ldr. Murray he was amongst the PoWs that were transferred to Marlag und Milag Nord at Westertimke in Lower Saxony.

Marlag is an acronym for Marinelager (naval prisoner of war camp), Milag is short for Marine-Internierten-Lager(naval internment camp), and Nord is German for ‘north’.

On the 2nd April 1945 the Commandant announced that he had received orders to leave the camp with most of his guards, leaving only a small detachment behind to hand over the camp to Allied forces, who were already in Bremen.

However, that afternoon a detachment of over a hundred SS-Feldgendarmerie entered the camp, mustered over 3,000 men and marched them out, heading east. The next day, at around at 10:00 hrs the column was strafed by RAF aircraft, and two PoWs were killed.

Over the next few days the column was attacked from the air several times. Finally the Senior British Naval Officer (SBNO), who was later killed in a strafing attack by RAF aircraft, offered the Germans the PoW’s parole, in return for being allowed to rest during the day and march at night. The Germans agreed.

On the 9th April 1945 the guards at Marlag-Milag moved out and were replaced by older men, presumably local Volkssturm. Meanwhile, the column slowly headed east, finally crossing the River Elbe, north of Hamburg, on the 18th April.

On the 27th April the camps were liberated by elements of the British Guards Armoured Division. The next day, the 28th April, the column finally arrived at Lübeck on the Baltic coast. They were liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on the 1st May 1945. Sqn Ldr. Murray was interviewed on the 2nd May 1945.

Sydney Stuart Murray was born on the 8th April 1909 in Japan. He join the RAF as a cadet in September 1927 and promoted to Flt Lt. on the 27th January 1935 and then to Sqn Ldr. on the 1st August 1938.

Acting Wg Cdr. Murray was appointed an OBE (M) at St. James’s Palace on the 28th December 1945.

He was promoted to Wg Cdr. on the 1st January 1946 (London Gazette 8th March 1946) and to Grp Capt. on the 1st January 1949 (London Gazette 31st December 1948). He retired from the RAF on the 6th April 1957 as a Grp Capt. Sydney passed away on the 22nd February 1980 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.

(2) Flt Lt. Thompson worked on several tunnels over period of years which earned for himself an early position in the line of two-hundred (200) hoping to escape from the north compound of Stalag Luft 3.

On the night of the 24th/25th March 1944, seventy-six (76) officers escaped from the north compound of Stalag Luft 3 which, at that time, held between 1000 and 1500 RAF PoWs. The escape was made by the means of a tunnel. At about 05:00 hrs on the 25th March the 77th PoW was spotted by guards as he emerged from the tunnel.

Flt Lt. Thompson was the sixty-eighth (68) man to leave the tunnel. He and Flt Lt. Cameron walked for about two (2) miles and hid in a pine forest. They then continued walking through the snow until 04:00 hrs but Flt Lt. Cameron started to feel too ill to carry on and hid in a barn to rest. Flt Lt. Thompson continued on with two (2) Americans they had met in the hope to jump onto a freight train. (Ref 1, pp 196-197).

Note: The American PoWs were involved in the tunnelling projects but the USAAF PoWs were moved to the newly constructed South Compound before the escape. There is no record of any being on the breakout on the night 24th/25th March 1944 and it has not been possible to identified the two Americans.

Whilst passing through a small village they were apprehended by a member of the German Heinswehr (Home Guard). They were then taken to the Sagan Police Station and over the rest of the day further escaped PoWs were brought in. The next morning they were loaded on a lorry and under guard taken to Görlitz prison and two day later they were interrogated. (Ref 1, pp 196-197).

Flt Lt. Thompson remained at Görlitz for eleven (11) or twelve (12) days and from about the 30th March several prisoner were taken away and we not seen again. He and twelve (12) others were taken back to Stalag Luft 3 and where given twenty-one (21) days solitary confinement. (Ref 1, pp 196-197).

His story for the evacuation of Stalag Luft 3 is the same as for Sqn Ldr. Murray (See (1) above).

Alfred Burke Thompson was born on the 8th August 1915 in Penetanguishene, Simcoe, Ontario. He enlisted in the RAF on the 21st December 1936 and was appointed to a pre-war short service commission.

He was promoted to Fg Off. on the 21st September 1939 (London Gazette 19th November 1940) and then to Flt Lt. on the 21st September 1940 (London Gazette 4th February 1941).

He was transferred to the Reserve, effective 16th November 1940 (London Gazette on the 25th January 1944). He relinquished his commission as a Flt Lt. on appointment to the RCAF on the 20th November 1944 (London Gazette 18th September 1945).

He returned to university after the war and became a lawyer, and later a Crown Prosecutor, in Simcoe County, Ontario. Alfred passed away on the 1st January 1985 at his home town of Penetanguishene at the age of 85.

(3) On the 14th May 1940 Sgt. Hill was moved from Oflag 9A/H and sent to Oflag 9C at Siegenheim arriving there on the 17th May 1940.

On the 21st May he was shuffled between Stalag 21, Schocken, Stalag 21A, Posen and Stalag 21B, Schubin in Poland. On the 4th September 1940 he was transferred to the newly opened Stalag Luft 1 at Barth arriving there the next day.

On the 7th October 1941 he went out with an Arbeitskommando (Work Detail) wearing Luftwaffe sports kit under his uniform. With his companion, Warrant Officer (WO) D. Blair, he broke away from the guard in the town of Barth and after running about ½ mile they had the misfortune to turn into a long straight street. The closely following guard fired several rifle shots very close to them so they surrendered.

This was the then Sgt. Donald Blair 742018 who was the pilot of Blenheim IV R2772 from 82 Sqn shot down during a mission to Aalborg on the 13th August 1940 (3 PoWs).

On the 21st April 1942 the camp was closed and he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan. On the 13th October 1942 he was amongst 200 RAF NCOs that were transferred back to the reopened Stalag Luft 1 at Barth. On the 30th October 1943 he was transferred to Stalag Luft 6 at Heydekrug where he remained until the 15th July 1944.

In early 1944 the Russian Army were advancing into the Baltic States from the North and the East preparation for evacuating the camp was being made. PoWs from Stalag Luft 6, the camp closest to the Russian advance, were in the "northern route" of the force-marches, and were transported to Stalag 20A by train on the 16th July 1944, and from there took part in the forced-march. The columns went to Stalag Luft 4 at Groß-Tychow, Pomerania arriving there on the 18th July 1944.

On the 23rd February 1945 he was transferred as a promoted Warrant Officer (WO) to Stalag Luft 1, Barth arriving there on the 27th February. On the 30th April 1945, the prisoners were ordered to evacuate the camp in the face of the advancing Soviet Red Army, but the Senior American Officer (SAO), Col. Hubert Zemke, refused to give the order. After negotiations between Zemke and Commandant Oberst (Col) Gustav Warnstedt, it was agreed that to avoid useless bloodshed the guards would go, leaving the PoWs behind. The next day, the first Soviet troops arrived.

The Western Allied prisoners took over the camp into self-administration on the 1st May 1945. After protracted negotiations between the Western Allies and the Soviet leadership, the evacuation of the 8,498 inmates of Stalag Luft 1 finally took place between the 12th and 14th May 1945. The former PoWs had repaired a runway at the Barth Air Base and aircraft of the 8th Air Force undertook a massive airlift called "Operation Revival". Hundreds of PoWs had meanwhile made their own way west.

RAF PoWs were flown back to England and the American PoWs were flown to Camp Lucky Strike in Le Havre, France, where they were processed and waited for a liberty ship to return to the United States.

DELPH LAD’S BROADCAST FROM PRISON CAMP. Clement Ambrose Hill, Sergeant Observer of the Royal Air Force, who broadcast from a German prison camp on Saturday afternoon, is the son of Mr. Nat. Hill, of Slackcote, Delph. He is 18 years of age, and joined the RAF in April this year.

His father said yesterday that his son took part in a flight over Germany on September 9, and was posted as missing. He had to jump from the plane in a parachute, and dropped on high tension wires, but freed himself and reached the ground uninjured. After being detained at two aerodromes, he was taken to the prison camp at the Stalag near Magdeburg. The boy says he is in good health, and that one of the officers at the camp speaks English. They are given cigarettes occasionally, and are treated well. Sergeant Hill was training for the Civil Service when he joined the Air Force. He had been interested in aeroplanes from boyhood.

Published in the Leeds Mercury, Yorkshire, England on Monday 13 November 1939. (Credit: Paul McMillan)

Clement Ambrose Hill was born on the 21st April 1921 in Ashton, Lancashire. He enlisted in the pre-war RAF on the 3rd April 1939 just before his 18th birthday. Clement passed away on the 19th March 1983 in Westminster, Greater London.

(4) During April 1940 Sgt. Burry was moved from Oflag 9A/H and sent to Stalag 9C in Weimar. Up until November 1940 he was detailed on Arbeitskommando (Work Detail) on construction tasks. He slowed work down as far as possible and performed small acts of sabotage such as destruction of cement, bricks and other building materials.

Whilst at Weimar he obtained a map and compass from a German civilian and planned an escape attempt together with an AC. Liggett but two (2) days before they were to attempt their escape Sgt. Burry was transferred to Stalag Luft 1 in Barth.

This was AC1. Henry Liggett 568168 an Air Gunner from 144 Sqn Hampden I L4134 Pl:? which was shot down by an Me109 on a raid to Heligoland on the 29th September 1939. (3 KiA, 1 PoW).

Stalag Luft 1 was the first permanent PoW camp for members of the RAF and Sgt. Burry was amongst the first group of officers and NCOs from the RAF arrived at the camp on the 7th July 1940.

Whilst at Stalag Luft 1 he was involved in lengthy preparations for a tunnel escape during but the tunnel was discovered. In April 1942, all 800 PoWs were transferred to the newly constructed Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Silesia.

During August 1943 he was transferred to Stalag Luft 6 at Heydekrug in East Prussia. Whilst there he was promoted to Warrant Officer (WO) prior to being transferred in August 1944 to Stalag 357 Thorn (Toruń), Poland.

On the 1st September 1944 the PoWs were force-marched from Thorn (Toruń) to the site of the former Stalag 11D, with construction being carried out by the Italian PoW from Stalag 11B. The camp was commonly known as Stalag 357, Fallingbostal but officially the designation was Stalag 357, Oerbke.

In early April 1945 the PoWs were informed by the Commandant Oberst Hermann Ostmann that 12,000 British PoWs were being evacuated from the camp in the face of the Allied advance. The men marched from the camp in columns of 2,000.

After marching for four (4) days with the column NE from Fallingbostel he escaped with Sgt. Turner and AC. Neal by crawling though some bushes while the party was resting. They were recaptured a few minutes later due to the arrival of a column of Russian prisoners and were handed over to German guards driving a wagon with a few sick prisoners. A few yards down the road, together with AC. Neal, he dived into some bushes but were picked up by two German guards next morning. They told the Germans that they we were attached to a column but had fallen behind because they were sick. They were directed us to a rest area and were freed to make their own way there. They finally met some Russian prisoners who knew the whereabouts of the Allies.

Believed to be Sgt. Alex Henry John Turner 567326 RAFVR, the Navigator from 76 Sqn Halifax I, L9494 MP:? which was hit by Flak and then shot down by an Me109 on a mission to la Pallice on the 24th July 1941 (7 PoW);

This was AC2. Alfred James Neal 644213 RAF. He was captured on the 31st May 1940 whilst being attached to 13 Sqn with the British Expeditionary Force.

WO. Burry was interviewed on the 20th April 1945.

Sydney Alexander Burry was born on the 11th June 1915 in Wandsworth, London. He enlisted in the pre-war RAF on the 4th October 1935. Sydney passed away on the 17th December 1988 in Earlsfield, London

Prisoner No, 1 Sergeant Sydney Burry RAF, is British Prisoner of War No. 1, and this week his mother, Mrs. Kate Burry, is sending (in time, she hopes, for his twenty-seventh birthday) her 140th letter to Stalag Luft 1, Germany.

Mrs. Burry, who lives at Fieldview, Earlsfield, London S.W told the Sunday Pictorial yesterday: "Sydney a wireless operator and air gunner, was sent to Germany on September 8, 1939, on the first leaflet-dropping raid of the war. "His machine was hit and the crew took to their parachutes. Syd, was actually the first to land, so the Germans labelled him "Prisoner No. 1" and the Briton who will have been longest in captivity when he actually is set free by us is "Son no .1 " as well according to his mother. "Although he's been as prisoner for nearly three years, his letters have always been cheerful"

Published in the Sunday Mirror London, England on Sunday 24 May 1942. (Credit: Paul McMillan)

(5) AC1. Pacey was sent to Stalag 11A at Altengrabow, south of Dönitz where he remained for about a month. This was followed by a three (3) week stay at Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Bavaria which at the time served as a transit camp.

He was then transferred to Oflag 9A/H, Schloss Spangenberg (Spangenberg Castle) in the small town of Spangenberg in NE Hesse, Prussia during November 1939. The following year in December he was transferred to Stalag 9C Mühlhausen near Bad Sulza during and whilst there he was sent to Sondershausen labouring in the salt mine.

During February 1941 he was sent to Stalag Luft 1 in Barth-Vogelsang which was the first permanent PoW camp for members of the Western Allied Air Forces, which opened that month, to hold British officers and NCOs. The camp was closed in April 1942 and the PoWs transferred to other camps.

AC1. Pacey was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan-Silesia and whilst there he was promoted to Warrant Officer (WO) with effect of the 14th May 1943. The following month he was transferred to Stalag Luft 6 at Heydekrug, Memelland.

In early 1944 the Russian Army were advancing into the Baltic States from the North and the East preparation for evacuating the camp was being made. PoWs from Stalag Luft 6, the camp closest to the Russian advance, were in the "northern route" of the force-marches, and were transported to Stalag 20A by train in July 1944. WO. Pacey was amongst those who were transferred to Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland.

On the 1st September 1944 the PoWs were force-marched from Thorn (Toruń) in Poland to the site of the former Stalag 11D, with construction being carried out by the Italian PoW from Stalag 11B. The camp was commonly known as Stalag 357, Fallingbostal but officially the designation was Stalag 357, Oerbke.

In early April 1945 the PoWs were informed by the Commandant Oberst Hermann Ostmann that 12,000 British PoWs were being evacuated from the camp in the face of the Allied advance. The men marched from the camp in columns of 2,000. It appears the WO. Pacey was not amongst those on the forced march because he was interviewed on the 20th April 1945.

Stalag 357, was liberated on the 16th April 1945 by British troops from B Squadron 11th Hussars and the Reconnaissance Troop of the 8th Hussars. They were met at the main gate of Stalag 357 by a guard of Airborne troops, impeccably attired and led by RSM Lord.

WO. Pacey was appointed to a commission in the Equipment Branch and promoted to 58648 Plt Off. on the 14th November 1946 (London Gazette 14th February 1947). He was promoted to Fg Off. on a short service commission on the 28th September 1948 (London Gazette 19th October 1948). He was promoted to Flt Lt. on the 7th June 1951 (London Gazette 3rd July 1951).

Above Flt Lt. Pacey death announcement (Courtesy of the Manchester Evening News, dated 8th May 1956)

Peter Frederick Pacey was born on the 29th March 1918 in Bourne, Lincolnshire. He enlisted in the pre-war RAF in August 1934. Flt Lt. Pacey died on the 25th April 1956 at RAF Uxbridge hospital. The cause of his death was diagnosed as Bronchopneumonia as a result of lung cancer. He was serving at RAF Stafford at the time.

Burial details:

None - crew all survived as PoWs.

Post War:

Flt Lt. Peter Frederick Pacey. Hillingdon and Uxbridge Cemetery, Hillington, Greater London. Grave Inscription: “SADLY MISSED BY ALL WHO LOVED HIM”. Born on the 29th March 1918 in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Son of Maj. Stewart Oswald and Caroline Agnes (née Laster) Pacey of Retford, Nottinghamshire. Husband of Phyllis (née Pailthorpe) Pacey of Blackley, Manchester, England.

Originally researched by Michel Beckers for Aircrew Remembered. Photographs from the collection of Michel Beckers. (Feb 2017). Thank to Paul McMillan for the name corrections and newspaper articles for Sgt. Hill and Sgt. Burry (Oct 2019). Thanks to John Jones for the update to PoW Camp information (Mar 2019). Reviewed and rewritten by Aircrew Remembered (Feb 2025).

Other sources listed below:

Reference:

1. Stalag Luft III - An official history of the “Great Escape” PoW Camp - Published by Frontline Books - ISBN: 978-1-47388-305-5.

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