Operation: Luxembourg

Date: 10th May 1940 (Friday)

Unit No: 226 Sqn, Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF), Bomber Command

Type: Battle I

Serial: K9183

Code: MQ:R

Base: Reims, Champagne, France

Location: Hirzenhaff Farm, south of Bettendorf, Luxembourg

Pilot: Fg Off. Douglas Alexander Cameron 39455 RAF Age 25. KiA (1)

Obs: Sgt. Charles Stuart Hart 580370 RAF Age 21. PoW No: 13092 * (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: AC1. John George Ward 542939 RAF Age? PoW * /Evader (3)

* Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Vogelsang, today situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

REASON FOR LOSS:

Above: Fairey Battles of 226 Squadron undergoing servicing on the flight line at Reims-Champagne. The aircraft on the right is K9183 MQ:R (Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

On the 10th May 1940 Battle I K9183 took-off from Reims, Champagne as one of a force of thirty-two (32) Battles from 12, 103, 105, 142, 150 and 226 Squadrons who were ordered to attack German troops advancing through Luxembourg at noon. As it was impossible to provide fighter escort the bombers were briefed to make a very low approach to target and attack from as little as 250 foot (80 meters) using bombs with a delayed fuse.

Whilst bombing a bridge near Diekirch K9183 was hit by Flak and machine gunfire while they were flying at approximately five (5) feet from the ground in the vicinity of the target. The aircraft was set ablaze and Fg Off. Cameron crash-landed the aircraft at Hirzenhaff Farm between Wallendorf and Diekirch, south of Bettendorf in Luxembourg at 18:30 hrs despite being very badly wounded.

After they had crash-landed they were surrounded by Germans. AC1 Ward told them that there were still bombs on the aircraft as a consequence the Germans kept their distance. After the aircraft, all secret papers, etc. had been destroyed AC1. Ward informed the Germans that there were no bombs on board. They were very annoyed.

The three of them were then taken prisoner and conveyed by ambulance to a hospital in Diekirch. Fg Off. Cameron died on the operating table while an operation was being performed on his arm part of which had been blown off by Flak. Sgt. Hart and AC1. Ward remained in this hospital until 12th May.

Above: Courtesy of The Daily Telegraph, dated 21st June 1940

Short video describing the crew and loss of Battle I K9183 MQ:R (Courtesy of Tom Bowen, Michael Beckers and Peter Schlebaum)

(1) Douglas Alexander Cameron enlisted in the Australian Militia Forces on the 5th July 1932 for a period of three (3) years. 322122 Cpl. Cameron was discharged from the Militia on the 1st February 1936. He undertook his flying training at No. 1 Flying Training School (FTS) at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. He was one of the few that were seconded to the RAF on short service commissions. On the 19th February 1937 he arrived in the England with his stated profession as “Air Pilot” with the address “Air Ministry, Australian House, W1”.

He was listed in the Royal Air Force lists dated 19th November 1938 as a Fg Off. in the General Duties Branch.

(2) Sgt. Hart was slightly wounded in the crash landing and was admitted to a civilian hospital in Diekirch for treatment. Two (2) days later he was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 14th May. He was then transferred to Stalag 12A on the 17th May and remained there until the 24th May.

Stalag 12A was located between Limburg an der Lahn and Diez, 4 km SW of Limburg and was used as a transit camp.

He was then transferred to Stalag 8B, Lamsdorf in Silesia. On the 8th July he was transferred to Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Vogelsang. Whilst there spent four (4) days in May 1941 on a working party undertaking gardening duties at the Klissings Gardens in Barth.

In April 1942 all 800 inmates were transferred to the newly constructed Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Silesia. Stalag Luft 1 was reopened in October 1942, when 200 RAF NCOs from Stalag Luft 3 were moved there. Sgt. Hart was transferred back to Stalag Luft 1 during May 1943.

In May 1944 he assisted in digging tunnels, none of which were successful. He also attempted an escape wearing a German uniform but the sentry detected an irregularity with his pass.

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. The now promoted Warrant Officer (WO) Hart was interviewed on the 11th May 1945.

Charles Stuart Hart was born on the 7th October 1918 in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He enlisted in the regular Royal Air Force on the 15th August 1938. Charles passed away on the 10th May 1979 in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Bournemouth, England.

His brother L/Sgt. George Winfred Hart 186568, Royal Engineers, 35 Fortress Company was killed on the 9th April 1942 in Ceylon. The circumstance of his death are not known, however, the only attack on the island took place in April 1942 during the Japanese carrier raid into the Indian Ocean during which shore facilities at Colombo and Trincomalee were damaged by aircraft from the carrier while a light carrier, two heavy cruisers, and other warships were sunk out at sea. He was one of three (3) casualties on this day. He is buried in the Trincomalee War Cemetery 2.B.17 in Sri Lanka.

(3) On the 12th May AC1. Ward was moved to the Military Hospital in Trier and on the 14th May he transferred to the Reserve Lazarett (hospital) in Hohemark at Dulag Luft arriving there the next day.

On the 29th May he was moved to a Military Hospital in Frankfurt where he remained until the 15th June when he was transferred back to Hohemark. On the 30th November he was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel. On the 2nd December he was transferred to Stalag Luft 1 at Barth-Vogelsang arriving there on the 5th December.

During the time he was in hospital he began to learn German with the idea of making an attempt to escape at a later date. On the 25th January 1941 he was transferred to a Repatriation Camp in Upper Silesia arriving there on the 29th January.

It is believed that this was Stalag 21B/H Thure near Tur, which is about 6 mls north of Szubin. Why he called it a Repatriation Camp is not known.

While he was in the camp he bartered for civilian clothes, maps, a compass and anything else that would aid in his evasion. On the 29th March he obtained work as an interpreter with an Arbeitskommando (Working Party) near Lissa (Leszno) in Poland arriving there on the 31th March

On the 17th April he was in charge of an Arbeitskommando of twenty (20) PoWs who were engaged in clearing trees for the widening of a road on the outskirts of Lissa (Leszno). There were two (2) German guards with the party. He was wearing his civilian clothes under his uniform. At approximately 14:00 hrs he slipped away unobserved.

He walked east through the woods and after travelling about two (2) miles he discarded his uniform and buried it under a heap of fallen leaves. He then continued walking east in the direction of Gostyń, some 30 km (19 mls) to the east of Leszno. During this time he walked across country at night and hid in the woods during the day avoiding all contact with habitations.

He arrived at Gostyń and on about the night of the 20th April and went to the railway marshalling yards with the intention of getting into a wagon on a train going east. He was examining the tables on the side of a wagon with the aid of a match when he was apprehended by two (2) members of the Bahnpolizei (railway police). They demanded to see his Ausweis (German ID card) and as he was unable to produce one he was arrested and taken to the police station in Gostyń.

He was searched and his PoW disc was discovered and when interrogated and he told the true story of his escape. He then asked to be sent back to the Arbeitskommando, however, he was informed that it would be necessary for him to be interviewed by the Hauptmann (Capt) the following day and that in all probability he would be shot.

He was locked into a small room at the rear of the police station where there was one window which had strands of barbed wire across it. During the night of 20th/21st April he broke the strands of barbed wire across the window by bending them several times. When he had made a hole large enough he climbed through and walked across the yard.

He discovered that the yard was surrounded by a wall about ten (10) feet in height with broken glass on top, so he decided to attempt to get through the gate but there was a sentry.

He looked around for a weapon and found a brick. It was very dark so he walked up to the guard quite openly and hit him on the head with the brick using all his strength. The sentry was only wearing a forage cap and fell to the ground without making very much noise. He then ran off through the gate and after a few minutes got off the road and then started walking east across country for the rest of the night.

All his food, maps and compass had been taken from him at the police station so he called at very small farms and was provided with food. In many cases he was given shelter during the day. He continued walking east and after 133 km (83 mls) arrived at Sieradz on about the 27th April. The remainder of his journey was arranged

He evaded recapture and worked with the underground from April 1941 to early March 1945 when he contacted Russian Forces in Warsaw.

On 5th May 1945 2nd Lt. Adam Truszkowski of the Warsaw Division of the Polish Home Army wrote the following letter to the British Liaison Officer at the Polish camp in Lübeck. The subject was three (3) British escaped PoWs who were active in Warsaw during the uprising between August and October 1944.

“Lt John Ward 542939 RAF spent more than two years in Warsaw during which time he was active in the Polish secret military organization doing very good work. He lived under an assumed name and with false papers. When the uprising broke out, he took an active part in the fighting and was decorated with the Polish Cross of Valour. He was lightly wounded on Krucza Street in my presence and was treated by the Chief Medical Officer of the Polish Base Hospital at Mokotowski Street No. 45 Dr Hochsinger (code names Dr. Boleslaw Moszczynski and Dr. Hruziewicz). He was wounded in the right thigh by splinters of a trench-mortar projectile but was able to walk and go on with his duties before the end of the uprising. When Warsaw capitulated he was instructed to disguise himself in civilian clothes and to leave the city as a wounded civilian Pole. He was supplied with false papers and an escort to a point in the provinces (probably not far from Cracow) where an RAF bomber was to pick up and take him to the UK. This was arranged in code wireless message by the Polish authorities in Warsaw. I personally saw him off to the German lines. His home address is Madison Avenue, Ward End, Birmingham. With the permission of the British RAF he acted as Times correspondent during the uprising and reported regularly to his superior officer in the RAF headquarters in London. Personally, I should be glad to get news that he is alive and well from him.”

He was evacuated to UK via Odessa, Malta and Corsica on the 21st March 1945. Sgt. Ward was awarded the Military Cross (MC) which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 31st August 1945.

WO. John George Ward, MC was appointed to a commission and promoted to 57669 Plt Off. in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch effective 1st January 1946 (London Gazette 5th March 1946).

No biographical information for John George Ward has been found.

Burial details:

Above: Grave marker for Fg Off. D.A. Cameron (Photographer Unknown, courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Fg Off. Douglas Alexander Cameron. Diekirch Communal Cemetery, At left hand rear of cemetery (Luxembourg). Grave Inscription: "IN LOVING MEMORY". Born on the 14th June 1914 in Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia. Son of Gordon Douglas and Amelia Emily Jessie (née Pepper) Cameron. Husband of Jessie Taylor (née Rennie) Cameron of Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.

He is buried in the sole Commonwealth grave at the Diekirch Communal Cemetery. The cemetery is situated 34 km (21¼ mls) north of Luxembourg, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

He is also remembered on the Australian War Memorial plaque commemorating RAAF losses with the RAF.

Researched by Ralph Snape from Aircrew Remembered as dedicated to this crew and their families. Thanks to Tom Bowen for the link to the video (Aug 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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