Operation: Ludwigshaven, Germany

Date: 2nd/3rd September 1940 (Monday/Tuesday)

Unit No: 144 Squadron, 5 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Hampden I

Serial: P4370

Code: PL:L

Base: RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire

Location: Crashed 15 km (9¼ mls) NE of Maastricht

Pilot: Plt Off. Richard Sydney Albion ‘Dick’ Churchill 41255 RAF Age 20. PoW No. 243 * (1)

Observer: Plt Off. Ian Clark Kirk 42714 RNZAF Age 25. PoW No.1276 * (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Albert Eric Walker DFM, 615619 RAF Age 24. KiA

Air Gnr: Sgt. Anthony Charles Henry Edmeads 751841 RAFVR Age 22. KiA

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

Sgt. Albert E. Walker (Courtesy of Michael Beckers)

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 2nd/3rd September 1940 eight (8) Hampdens from the squadron took-off commencing at 22:00 hour on a mission to bomb Ludwigshafen am Rhein in Germany. P4370 failed to return at the expected time.

P4370 was claimed by Fw. Paul Gildner, his 3rd Abschuss, from 3./NJG1 over Wijnandsrade near Sittard at 3.000 m. after being conned by searchlights. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (1939 - 12 July 1941) The Early Years Part 1 - Theo Boiten).

Oblt. Paul Gildner was killed in a forced landing near th Gilze-Rijen airfield after an engine failure on the night of 24th/25th February 1943. He was credited with 41 night and 2 day confirmed Abschüsse. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten).

The aircraft came down between Nuth and Wijnandsrade, some 15 km (9¼ mls) NE of Maastricht, Holland.

Plt Off. Churchill and Plt Off. Kirk successfully baled out of the aircraft. Sgt. Walker and Sgt. Edmeads were killed aboard the aircraft by cannon fire.

(1) Plt Off. Churchill landed near Nuth and suffered a damaged right ear drum and a wrenched ankle. He was immediately captured after which he was sent to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 3rd September. After the statutory solitary confinement and interrogation he was transferred to Stalag Luft 1, Barth on the 18th September arriving there on the 21st September.

He was promoted to Fg Off. on the 3rd September 1940 which was promulgated in the London Gazette 21st February 1941. He was promoted to Flt Lt. on the 3rd September 1941 which was promulgated in the London Gazette 11th November 1941.

On the 15th April 1942 all 800 inmates were transferred to the newly constructed Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Silesia arriving there on the 17th April.

On the 29th August 1942 he was promoted to Sqn Ldr. which was later promulgated in the London Gazette on the 18th July 1944.

Flt Lt. Churchill was involved in the digging of the tunnels 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. Churchill believed he was the forty-eighth (48) man in the tunnel. He joined his party of ten (10) which was led by Flt Lt. Grisman. When they had walked two (2) km they split up into small groups. Flt Lt. Churchill and Flt Lt. Nelson teamed up and walked south until 03:00 hrs on 26th March when exhausted and cold from working through snow and floods they hid in a barn. (Ref 1, pp 197-198).

Flt Lt. Grisman was amongst the fifty (50) who were murdered by the Gestapo.

At 12:00 hrs the next day they were discovered by a farmer and workers who were searching the barn. They were taken to an inn in a village near Halbau and managed to hid their false papers there. They were then taken to Sagan Police station where they were held in a cell with Flt Lt. Birkland, Flt Lt. McGill, Flt Lt. McGarr, Flt Lt. J.F. Williams, Flt Lt. Street and Flt Lt. Milford. (Ref 1, pp 197-198).

These six (6) Officers were amongst the fifty (50) who were murdered by the Gestapo.

On the 28th March they were all taken to Görlitz. Flt Lt. Churchill was then returned to the civil prison where he remained until the 6th May after which he, Flt Lt. Marshall, Flt Lt. Bethel, Flt Lt. Armstrong, Flt Lt. Brodrick, Flt Lt. Nelson and Flt Lt. Cameron were taken back to Stalag Luft 3. (Ref 1, pp 197-198).

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 he was amongst the PoWs that were sent to Marlag und Milag Nord at Westertimke.

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. Flt Lt. Churchill was listed amongst those on the forced march.

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 to which 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.

Flt Lt. Churchill was interviewed on the 29th June 1945. After he returned to the UK he was promoted to Sqn Ldr. with effect the 1st January 1946 in the Reserve of Air Force Officers (RAFO) which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 5th March 1946.

Richard Sydney Albion Churchill was born on the 21st January 1920 in East Molesey, Surrey. He enlisted in the RAF on the 28th August 1938 and his appointment to Plt Off. was confirmed on the 29th August 1939. Richard passed away on the 12th February 2019 in Crediton, Devon.

(2) Plt Off. Kirk was either injured aboard the aircraft or when baling out and was captured that day. He was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 7th September 1940.

On the 24th October Plt Off. Kirk was one of twenty-six (26) PoWs that were selected to be transferred to Oflag 9A/H, Schloss Spangenberg (Spangenberg Castle) located in the small town of Spangenberg in NE Hesse, Prussia.

The camp was closed at the end of February 1941 and the other prisoners were transferred to Stalag 20A, Thorn (Toruń), Poland. On the 7th June 1941he was transferred to Oflag 6B, which was located SW of the village of Dössel.

On the 8th October 1942 he was transferred to Oflag 21B, Szubina few miles SW of Bydgoszcz, Poland. On the 9th April 1943 the camp was cleared of all PoWs who were sent to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan.

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 7th February 1945 Plt Off. Kirk was amongst those PoWs who were transferred to Stalag 3A, Luckenwalde.

On the 22nd April 1945 as the Russians approached the camp the guards fled leaving the prisoners to be liberated by the Red Army. Stalag 3A was turned over to the Americans on the 6th May at which time the Senior American Officers (SAO) took over the running of the camp until all the PoWs were evacuated. Fg Off. Kirk was interviewed on the 16th May 1943.

Ian Clark Kirk was born on the 16th November 1914 in Auckland, New Zealand. He enlisted in the RNZAF on the 24th July 1939. Ian passed away on the 17th March 2009 in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, England.

Burial details:

Above: Grave marker for Sgt. Albert E. Walker DFM (Courtesy of Des Philippet- FindAGrave)

Sgt. Albert Eric Walker DFM. Maastricht General Cemetery, Row 3 Grave 139. Grave Inscription: “A LEAF IN THE BOOK OF MEMORY IS GENTLY TURNED TO-DAY”. Born in 4th Qtr of 1915 in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. Son of Albert and Lily May (née Whitehouse) Walker of Charlemont, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.

Sgt. Walker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) whilst with 144 Sqn. Promulgated in the London Gazette, 22nd October 1940.

Above: Grave marker for Sgt. Anthony C. H. Edmeads (Courtesy of Des Philippet- FindAGrave)

Sgt. Anthony Charles Henry Edmeads. Maastricht General Cemetery, Row 3 Grave 138. Grave Inscription: “REMEMBERED ALWAYS WITH LOVE AND PRIDE, DEAR SON AND BROTHER”. Born in January 1918 in Brighton, East Sussex. Son of Charles Frederick John and Alice Muad (née Miller) Edmeads of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to this crew and their families (Mar 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.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© Aircrew Remembered 2012 - 2026 Last Modified: 16 September 2025, 13:11