Operation: Mönchengladbach, Germany

Date: 30th/31st August 1943 (Monday/Tuesday)

Unit No: 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron, 3 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Stirling III

Serial: BK650

Code: HA:T

Base: RAF Downham Market, Norfolk.

Location: Budel-Dorplein, 16 km (10 mls) SE of Valkenswaard, Netherlands

Pilot: Fg Off. William Henry Clague 156067 RAFVR Age 26. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Jack Adam Whetton 1096809 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

Nav: Sgt. Ian Alexander Robb 1397341 RAFVR Age 21. Id No. 78415 *, PoW No. 8114 ** (1)

Bomb Aimer: Plt Off. Gerald Frank Lorne 138901 RAFVR Age? Evader (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Harold Butler 1484118 RAFVR Age 20. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid-Upp): Sgt. Cecil Charles Holden 624070 RAFVR Age 25. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. August Andrew Frederickson R181041 RCAF Age? PoW No: 540 *** (3)

* Buchenwald concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimer, Germany in July 1937.

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

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

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 30th/31st August 1943 Stirlings from 218 (Gold Coast) Sqn joined a force of 660 aircraft detailed for a double attack, with the first target being Mönchengladbach and Rheydt the second

Of the 6 Stirlings lost, 2 were from 218 (Gold Coast) Sqn:

Stirling III EE903 HA:Q. Sgt. Stanley Bennett and his crew were KiA. This was only their 3rd mission. The bomber was claimed by Lt. Helmut Perle his 2nd Abschuss, from E./NJG2. He engaged a gaggle of 3 Stirlings. EE903 was the first, he then engaged a second unidentified Stirling which he also shot down. In engaging the third unidentified Stirling his Bf110 G-4 R4+BA was coned by Flak searchlights and was so brightly lit up that the rear gunner of the third Stirling had no difficulty in shooting him down. He and his crewman baled out but Lt. Perle’s parachute did not deploy in time because of the low altitude and he was killed. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (23 June - 22 September) 1943 Part 2 - Theo Boiten).

BK650 was claimed by Hptm. Kurt Fladrich, his 6th Abschuss, from 9./NJG4, near Dorplein, 6km west of Weert at 3.500m at 04:01 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (23 June - 22 September) 1943 Part 2 - Theo Boiten).

Hptm. Fladrich survived the war and was credited with 14 confirmed Abschüsse with 1 awaiting confirmation. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten)

Flt Sgt. Clague ordered the crew to bale out. The Rear Gunner, Navigator and Wireless Operator all successfully baled out. It transpired that Flt Sgt. Clague had taken off without his parachute and there was no spare aboard. Sgt. Lorne pleaded with the pilot to jump attached to him, but he refused. With the Stirling nosing over Sgt. Lorne had to leave Flt Sgt. Clague to his fate. Almost immediately the aircraft exploded crashing into the farm "De Voorhoeve" near Dorplein (Noord Brabant), 16 km (10 mls) SE of Valkenswaard, Netherlands. (Ref 1: p. 560)

(1) Sgt. Robb baled landed about 9½ km (6 mls) from Ophoven, Belgium and about 9 km (5½ mls) from the crash site in the Netherlands. While he was disposing of his parachute he heard two civilians speaking in Flemish so he took a chance and approached them.

They hid him in a haystack and provided him with a set of blue overalls and then took him to a house where he hid up for the day. At 18:00 hrs a Frenchman arrived who took him to a farmhouse after making sure he was British where he stayed until the 3th September 1943. The Frenchman then brought a bicycle and they rode to Maasyck, some 3½ km (2¼ mls) to the south, where they caught a train to Tongres (Tongeren), some 42 km (26 mls) to the SSW, where they have some food at a café.

He stayed in a house in Tongres (Tongeren), that night and the next day, 5th September 1943, at mid-day they caught a train to Liège. He was sent to a house in the suburbs where he stayed for about 6 days.

On about the 12th September 1943 he was taken by train to Brussels where he was hidden in a house for 2 weeks and was provided with forged identity cards. On the 2nd October 1943 he caught a train to Blandain where he met an American, Lt. Carlisle Darling, from the Army Air Corps.

This was 2nd Lt. Carlisle H. Darling O-673492 who was the Navigator from 322nd Bombardment Sqn (H), 91st Bombardment Group (H) B-17F #42-2990 LG:R 'Dame Satan' lost on a mission to Schweinfurt, Germany on the17th August 1943 (2 KiA, 4 PoW, 4 Evd).

At Blandain they walked across the frontier into France, stopped at a house where they collected fresh papers and then took a bus into Lille. At Lille they caught the train to Paris the same day. Arriving in Paris they then walked to a church where they were supposed to meet another guide. The guide did not turn up so the one that accompanied them from Lille took them to a small flat in Montmartre in northern Paris. The next evening they went to another church and their guide handed them over to a Frenchman.

The new guide took them to a doctor's house in Paris where they stayed for 5 days. They were then handed over to two Frenchmen who took them to a flat near the Sacré-Cœur Cathedral (Basilique Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre) where they were joined by about 10 other evading air crew. They remained at the flat for approximately 3 days.

On about the 12th October 1943, Sgt. Robb, 2nd Lt. Carlisle H. Darling and two others were taken by train to Fismes, which is about 27 km (16¾ mls) west of Reims. They stopped at Savigny-sur-Ardres, about 10 km (6¾ mls) SE of Fismes and stayed the night. The next day they were warned that the Gestapo were looking out from them so they provided with guns and hidden in cave where they remained for 3 days.

A priest who had looked after them since their arrival at Savigny-sur-Ardres took them to a Château. They were then split up with 2nd Lt. Darling and Sgt. Robb staying at the Château for 2 weeks. On about the 15th November 1943 they were taken to a flat in Reims where they remained for 2 weeks.

While there a French Canadian visited them frequently and asked a number of questions about them and their identities. He claimed to have been evading the enemy since landing at Dieppe.

Note: The French Canadian subterfuge was used by Jean-Jacques who was a Belgian traitor named Jaques Desoubrie (Jean-Jacques, Jean Masson, Jean Decan and Pierre Boulain were aliases) who had infiltrated the Réseau Comète (Comet Line) escape route in Brussels and Paris. He was responsible for the Nazis rounding up dozen of members of the Réseau Comète and Allied airmen. He was finally captured and stood accused at a French military trial in Lille. He was convicted and condemned to death for having participated in the capture and assassination of members of the resistance and for sending Allied military to their deaths in violation of the Geneva convention. He was executed by firing squad.

Madame Orsini, also known as Colette, was Marie-Antoinette Orsini and an accomplice of Desoubrie. She was arrested by the French authorities but not before Desoubrie tried but failed to kill her so that she would not inform on him.

The French Canadian took them to Fismes on about the 1st December 1943 and they met a Frenchman who took them to his father's shop. At the Reims railway station Sgt. Robb met Sgt. Robert Harper RAF.

This was Sgt. Robert Harper 1533550 RAFVR who was the Bomb Aimer from 622 Sqn Stirling III EF128 GI:D shot down by German night-fighter on the night of the 18th/19th November 1943 on a mission to Mannheim, Germany (7 KiA, 1 PoW).

It was here that the party was spilt up again and this was the last Sgt. Robb saw of 2nd Lt. Darling. 2nd Lt. Darling was in fact captured although the circumstances are unknown but records show that he was sent to Stalag Luft 3.

Sgt. Robb and Sgt. Harper remained there until 31st December 1943, when the Gestapo arrived early in the morning and arrested them. Both were held in the Military prison in Reims until May 1944 and then transferred to a prison in Châlons-sur-Marne (Châlons-en-Champagne) some 40 km (25 mls) SE of Reims.

In July they were transferred to Fresnes prison which was located to the south of Paris and was where French political prisoners were held and ordinarily Allied airmen, after questioning, were moved to a PoW Camp. In the summer of 1944, with the Allies having liberated Paris and closing in, the Gestapo guards started reducing the prison population by execution, and then relocating surviving prisoners to various concentration camps east of France. On the 15th August 1944 they were amongst 169 Allied PoWs and hundreds of French men and women who were packed into a freight train and transported to Buchenwald concentration camp on a journey lasting five days. Buchenwald was located 8 km (5 mls) north of Weimar, in the German province of Thüringen. It was established and administered by the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Fg Off. Joel Mathews ‘Tex’ Stevenson C27788 RCAF, the pilot of 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF Lancaster X KB727 VR:H escaped from the train and successfully evaded.

Sqn Ldr. Lamason and Fg Off. Chapman succeeded in getting all but two of the Allied PoWs transferred to Stalag Luft 3. Two airmen, 1st Lt. Levitt Clinton Beck Jr. O-736945, US AAF and Fg Off. Philip Derek Hemmens, 152583, RAFVR died in the sick barrack.

Recognition:

For decades the International Red Cross (IRC) had stated that there were no military personnel in Buchenwald despite the overwhelming documentary and anecdotal evidence. It was not until 1988 that the IRC eventually confirmed the airmen were illegally held at Buchenwald.

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments also consistently denied that any of their service personnel were ever held in concentration camps and refused to investigate the claims made by a 'mere’ handful of men.

Reparations were made to the British airmen who had been illegally held at Buchenwald in 1965. Eventually in 1988 the Australian, New Zealand and it is believed the Canadian governments acknowledged that their airmen had been illegally held in concentration camps.

American airmen were among those receiving compensation and the US Air force have acknowledged the Buchenwald airmen with an exhibit at the Air Force Museum, albeit the airmen are shown in uniform rather than in civilian attire. Furthermore, there is no mention of decades-long denial of their experiences by other branches of the government.

He was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 over the period 15th to 20th October 1944. He was promoted to Warrant Officer (WO) whilst he was a PoW. Around the 1st January 1944 he was amongst some 500 British prisoners from the East and Centre compounds of Stalag Luft 3 were sent to the Belaria compound. Belaria was situated about 5 km (3 mls) west of Stalag Luft 3 on a grassy hill overlooking 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.

Flt Sgt. Chinn joined PoWs from the North, East and remaining West compound PoWs and sent to the Marlag und Milag Nord PoW camp 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. Records show that Plt Off. Guilfoyle was listed as being on this 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. The Germans agreed.

On the 9th April 1945 the guards at Marlag und Milag Nord camp 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 camp was 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.

Ian Alexander Robb was born on the 20th February 1922. He was clerk prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 12th October 1941.

(2) The Escape and Evasion report for Plt Off. Lorne is not available so the details of his evasion are not known. What is known is that he was No. 249 in the ‘Comet Line’ (Réseau Comète) records. He evaded through Belgium and France. He crossed the Pyrenees on the 30th December 1943 into Spain with:

1st Lt. Dwight Allen Fry O-732214, who baled out after his P-47D #42-8513 from the 350th Fighter Sqn, 353rd Fighter Group, was shot down by an Fw190 during a bomber escort mission to Schweinfurt on the 14th October 1943 - Comet Line No. 248;

Plt Off. Noel Norman Parker 413240 RAAF, who was the pilot of 75 Sqn Stirling III LJ442 JN:F which was shot down by German night-fighter on the 19th November 1943 on a mission to Leverkusen (4 KiA, 1 PoW, 2 Evd). He was later awarded the DFC and Bar - Comet Line No. 250;

P.B. Laming, who was a civilian and the son of Major Richard Laming, the first chief of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Dutch (D) Section - Comet Line No. 247.

Plt Off. Lorne and Plt Off. Parker left Gibraltar for the UK and arrived at RAF Whitchurch on the 6th February 1944.

(3) The ‘General Questionnaire for British/American Ex-Prisoners of War’ for Sgt. Frederickson is not available. However, what is known is that he was initially sent to Stalag Luft 6 where he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2).

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, and from there took part in the forced-march. It was estimated that 100,000 PoWs took the northern route. It went to Stalag Luft 4 at Gross Tychow, Pomerania then via Stettin to Stalag 9B and finally Stalag 357 at Fallingbostel. (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 from records that are available that WO2. Frederickson remained at Stalag 357.

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.

Burial details:

Above: The Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Above: Grave markers for Fg Off. Clague and Sgt. Whetton (Courtesy of Fred - FindAGrave)

Fg Off. William Henry Clague. Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot EE. Grave 99. Grave inscription: ‘PEACE, PERFECT PEACE’. Son of William Henry and Eleanor Clague of Kirk Michael, Isle of Man, England.

Sgt. Jack Adam Whetton. Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot EE. Grave 100. Grave Inscription: ‘GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN’. Son of Harry and Marguerite Whetton of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England.

Above: Grave markers for Sgt. Butler and Sgt. Holden (Courtesy of Fred - FindAGrave)

Sgt. Harold Butler. Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot EE. Grave 101. Grave Inscription: ‘LIFE IS ETERNAL LOVE WILL REMAIN IN GOD'S OWN TIME WE SHALL MEET AGAIN’. Son of John and Henrietta S.A. Butler, of Preston, Lancashire, England.

Sgt. Cecil Charles Holden. Eindhoven (Woensel) General Cemetery Plot EE. Grave 98. Grave Inscription: ‘THE SOULS OF THE FAITHFUL ARE IN THE HAND OF GOD’. Born on the 8th March 1919 in Elveden, Suffolk. Son of Harry and Lily (née Fraser) Holden of Elveden, Suffolk, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Jul 2024).

Other sources listed below:

Reference:

1. From St. Vith to Victory: 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron and Campaign against NAZI Germany (Stephen C. Smith)

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: 18 August 2024, 20:30