Operation: Anti-Submarine patrol, Bay of Biscay

Date: 8th/9th October 1942 (Thursday/Friday)

Unit: 10 Operational Training Unit (OTU), Detachment, Coastal Command

Type: Whitley V

Serial No: AD671

Code: JL:?

Location: Bay of Biscay, France

Base: RAF St. Eval, Cornwall

Pilot: WO. Clifford Niles Ellis 1115200 RAFVR Age 27. PoW No. 27187 * (1)

2nd Pilot: WO2. William Arthur Gammon R90421 RCAF Age 21. PoW No. 27194 * (2)

Obs: WO. Leslie Herbert Dean 1336968 RAFVR Age 30. PoW No. 27193 * (3)

WOp/Air Gnr: WO. Francis Desmond Garrett 1337659 RAFVR Age 21. PoW No. 27216 * (4)

WOp/Air Gnr: Plt Off. Dennis Herbert Cochran MiD, 122441 RAFVR Age 23. PoW No. 727**/Murdered (6)

Air Gnr: WO2. Ward Chapman ‘Bud’ Roach R83351 RCAF Age 20. PoW No. 27232 * (5)

* Stalag 8b, in 1943 renamed Stalag 344, Lamsdorf (now called Łambinowice) in Silesia, Lamsdorf (now called Łambinowice) in Silesia.

** Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria).

REASON FOR LOSS:

AD671 took off from RAF St. Eval in Cornwall on an anti-submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay to hunt German U-Boats making their way to and from their home ports and the North Atlantic.

The Whitley was intercepted by a Ju88c flown by Leutnant (Lt) Dieter Meister from 13./KG40 over the Bay of Biscay at 16:00 hrs. This was to be his 1st confirmed Abschuss.

Lt. Meister was shot down and killed on the 21st November 1944. His Fw190 was claimed as a probable by a Lt. J. Tillett Jr. from the 12th Rec Sqn. Lt. Meister had at least 8 Abschüsse in the west to his credit.

Tillett is believed to be 1st Lt. John Tillett Jr. O-669525, from the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Sqn, 10th Photographic Group, 9th Air Force.

It is believed that after the Whitley was damaged during the attack it ditched in the Bay of Biscay. The crew survived and made it ashore somewhere on the west coast of France where WO. Ellis, WO2. Gammon, WO. Dean, WO. Garrett and WO2. Roach were immediately captured.

According to German PoW records Plt Off. Cochran successfully evaded the Germans but was captured a month later on the 9th November 1942 and was eventually incarcerated at Stalag Luft 3.

(1) WO. Ellis as a 2nd. Pilot had already experienced a close shave serving with the detachment on the 27th September 1942 when Whitley V, AD708 returning from an anti-submarine patrol landed on the short runway at RAF St. Eval and swung out of control, the undercarriage giving way in the process. The aircraft caught fire but the crew managed to scramble clear without injury. This was WO2. Denison Hilton Thompson’s, the pilot, second serious accident. He was posted to 428 (Ghost) Sqn, RCAF and was declared missing, along with his crew, on the 27th/28th May 1943 raid on Essen aboard Wellington X, HZ485 NA:G.

This was WO2. Denison Hilton Thompson’s, the pilot, second serious accident. He was posted to 428 (Ghost) Sqn, RCAF and was declared missing, along with his crew, on the 27th/28th May 1943 raid on Essen aboard Wellington X, HZ485 NA:G.

WO. Ellis was captured near Cherbourg on the 9th October 1942 and transported to Dulag Luft, Oberursel where he spent 4 days in solitary confinement.

He was then transferred to Stalag 8b, Lamsdorf arriving there on the 18th October 1942 where he remained until the 22nd January 1945.

In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp was split up, and many of the PoWs were transferred to two new base camps Stalag 8C Sagan (modern Żagań and Stalag 8D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.

In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced into Germany, he was on the force-march to Stalag 9C, Mulhausen, starting on the 14th February 1945 arriving there on the 15th March 1945.

On the 29th March 1945 the camp was evacuated and the PoWs forced to march westward in advance of the Soviet offensive. During the march he over-heard 2 Germans talking about the Americans being at Gera, which is about 18 km (11 mls) north of Wittchendorf.

On the 13th April he and a Pte. R. Dawson 14003079 from the Black Watch, decided to break away from the column. For the next 3 days they hid in a loft and then a cellar. They were liberated by American forces at 09:30 hrs on the 16th April 1945.

He was interviewed on the 28th April 1945.

Prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 2rd May 1941 he was furnishing traveller living in Blackpool.

(2) WO2. Gammon was captured at Cherbourg on the 9th October 1942 and transported to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 10th October 1942. For the next 4 days he was interrogated.

On the 14th October 1942 he was transferred to Stalag 8B, Lamsdorf arriving there on the 21st October 1942 and remained there until the 22nd January 1945.

In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp was split up, and many of the PoWs were transferred to two new base camps Stalag 8C Sagan (modern Żagań and Stalag 8D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.

In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced into Germany. and the camp was evacuated with the PoWs force-marched to Stalag 9C, Mulhausen. He and three companions escaped the column on the 8th April 1945 and was liberated by American Forces on the 11th April 1945.

He was interviewed on the 14th June 1945.

Prior to enlisting in the RAFVR in May 1941 he was student in Ontario.

WO2. Gammon’s brother, Flt Sgt. Rex Thomas Gammon R90157 RCAF, was KiA on the 28th July 1942 on a mission to Hamburg aboard 22 OTU, Wellington Ic X3201. He is interred at the Hamburg Cemetery in Grave 4A.E.14. Son of James and Rhoda Gammon of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

(3) WO. Dean was captured on the 12th October 1942 and transported to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 14th October 1942.

On the 18th October 1942 he was transferred to Stalag 8b, Lamsdorf and he remained there until the 28th February 1945

Note: While a prisoner his hands were tied with rope and later with chains for 12 hours daily from October 1942 until the latter part of 1943.

The Germans issued a communiqué a few days after a raid on the 3rd/4th October 1942 on Sark, Channel islands, implying at that least one prisoner had escaped and two were shot while resisting having their hands tied during the raid. It came shortly after the Dieppe raid where an Allied document, illegally carried by a Canadian officer, reportedly instructed prisoners' hands to be tied. When this was brought to Hitler's attention, he ordered the shackling of Canadian prisoners, which led to a reciprocating order by British and Canadian authorities for German prisoners being held in Canada. Eventually this practice was dropped on insistence of the International Red Cross (IRC).

In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp was split up, and many of the PoWs (and Arbeitskommando) were transferred to two new base camps Stalag 8C Sagan (modern Żagań and Stalag 8D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.

In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced into Germany and the camp was evacuated. He was transferred to Stalag 13D, Nuremburg arriving there on the 6th March 1945 .

He remained there until the 15th April 1945 when the camp was evacuated in the face of Soviet advances and joined the forced-march to Stalag 7A, Moosberg. Arriving there on the 29th April 1945 the PoWs were liberated that day by elements of the US 14th Armoured Division.

He remained there until the 7th May and was interviewed on the 10th May 1945.

Prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 10th March 1941 he was a Pharmacist in Worthing in Sussex.

(4) WO. Garrett was captured near Cherbourg on the 9th October 1942 and arrived at Dulag Luft, Oberursel on the 12th October 1942

His PoW questionnaire only records that he was transferred to Stalag 8b, Lamsdorf arriving there on the 19th October and remained there until the 30th March 1945.

In 1943, the Lamsdorf camp was split up, and many of the PoWs were transferred to two new base camps Stalag 8C Sagan (modern Żagań and Stalag 8D Teschen (modern Český Těšín). The base camp at Lamsdorf was renumbered Stalag 344.

It appears that he was with the cadre of PoWs that remained at the camp which was liberated by the Soviet Army on the 17th March 1945.

He was interviewed on the 20th June 1945.

Prior to enlisting in the RAFVR in March 1941 he was employed as an Engineering Store Keeper in Maidstone, Kent.

(5) After the war WO2 ‘Bud’ Roach was one of the founding members of the PoW Association of Canada and a past President of the Royal Canadian Legion branch 84 in Lemington. Ward Chapman ‘Bud’ Roach passed away on the 29th October 2012.

Courtesy of The Windsor Star, dated Wednesday October 31st, 2012

(6) At Stalag Luft 3 Fg Off. Cochran was one of the primary tunnellers. This coupled with his command of the German language gave him the position of number 16 out of the tunnel.

Sqn Ldr. Bushell was made the head of the Escape Committee and he was known as "Big X". His plan was to cause the maximum amount of disruption to the Germans in organising a breakout by 200 PoWs. His plan was to commence digging three tunnels which were named "Tom", "Dick" and "Harry" under the premise that should one of the three be discovered the Germans would unlikely think that another was being dug let alone two.

Some 600 PoWs were involved in the planning, preparation of escape materials and construction of the tunnels. On the 8th September 1943 “Tom” was discovered and activity on the other two tunnels was shut down for two months to eliminate the risk of being discovered. When work was to recommence “Dick” was shut down because of the clearance for a new compound made unlikely that this tunnel would ever be completed and all efforts were redirected into completing “Harry”.

On the night of the 24th-25th March 1944, 76 officers escaped via “Harry” from the north compound which, at that time, held between 1000 and 1500 RAF PoWs. At about 05:00 hrs on the 25th March the 77th PoW was spotted by guards as he emerged from the tunnel.

An overview of the German response to the escape and the subsequent British prosecution of those responsible for the murder of fifty of the escapees is summarised in the report entitled “The Fifty - The Great Escape”.

Fg Off. Cochran along with a number of other escapees who were gathered at the Sagan railway station managed to embark on a Breslau destined train which departed at 01:00 hrs on the 25th March. Plt Off. Cochran who was travelling alone was captured only 7km from the Swiss border on the 30th March and was taken to the prison at Ettlingen.

The circumstances surrounding the death of Fg Off. Cochran were established during the first of two British Military Courts which was convened at the Curiohaus, Hamburg between the 1st July and 3rd September 1947. This was the trial of Max Wielen and 17 others where they were charged on nine counts.

All of the accused were named on the first two counts. These counts were charges of conspiracy against Max Ernst Gustav Friedrich Wielen, the Kripo and Gestapo police chief of Breslau with the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, together with SS-Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller, Head of the Gestapo (Amt IV of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA)) (believed to have been killed or committed suicide) and SS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe, Head of the Kripo (Amt V of the RSHA) (Executed after the attempt on Hitler’s life) in the participation of the killing of the 50 officers.

Kripo = Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police).

In counts three to nine, six groups of accused were each charged with the killing of one or several officers. Every accused with the exception of Max Wielen figures in one of these counts and no accused figures in more than one.

On the fifth count four members of the Karlsruhe Gestapo were accused of committing a war crime in that they in the vicinity of Natzweiler in France, on or about 31st March 1944, in violation of the laws and usages of war, were concerned in the killing of Fg Off. D.H. Cochran, RAF a PoW.

The accused were:

Josef Albert Andreas Gmeiner who was a former Oberregierung- und Kriminalrat (Senior Government official and Chief Detective) and held the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lt Col);

Walter Herberg who was a former Kriminalkommissar (Detective Superintendent) and held the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (Capt);

Otto Preiss who was a former Kriminalsekretär (Detective Inspector) and held the rank of SS-Sturmscharführer (Sgt Maj);

The rank and position of Heinrich Boschert remains unknown.

The court heard that Gmeiner was the Commanding Officer at regional headquarters of the Gestapo at Karlsruhe. On or about the 31st March 1944, he received a teleprint from SS-Gruppenführer Müller his superior at Amt IV, instructing him that the British airman held by the Karlsruhe Kripo was to be shot. The teleprint gave the essential points of the Hitler order.

Gmeiner then ordered the three men whom he had chosen to carry out the order to his office and delegated them to specific tasks. Herberg was made responsible for carrying out the shooting and to organise the death certificate and crematorium orders. Preiss was delegated as the executioner and Boschert the driver. He then pledged all present to secrecy with handshakes.

The following morning Fg Off. Cochran was collected, handcuffed and put in the back of a car. Herberg told him that he was being taken to a transit camp. Near the Natzweiler concentration camp the car was halted on the side of the road.

Herberg claimed he needed to relieve himself and invited Fg Off. Cochran to do the same after which they all exited the car. Boschert testified that he could not watch what was about to transpire and turned his back and walked some distance along the road. Shortly thereafter he heard a shot followed by a second. When he returned to the car Fg Off. Cochran was dead lying face down on the ground.

The court found the accused guilty of the charge for which they were sentenced to death. Boschert’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment presumably because at a review it was considered that his culpability did not warrant the death sentence. The final disposition of his sentence is unknown.

Gmeiner, Herberg and Preiss were executed at Hameln prison by Albert Pierrepoint, assisted by RSM Richard A. O'Neill, on the 26th February 1948.

Burial details:

Memorial to “The Fifty” near to Żagań (Courtesy: CSvBibra - Own work, Public Domain)

Grave marker for Fg Off. Cochran MiD (Courtesy of TWGPP)

Fg Off. Dennis Herbert Cochran MiD. Poznań Old Garrison Cemetery Coll. Grave 9.A. Inscription: "OF WHOM MAY WE SEEK FOR SUCCOUR, O LORD, WHO FOR OUR SINS ART JUSTLY DISPLEASED". Born on the 13th August 1921 in Hackney, London. Son of Herbert William and Ethel Grace Lilian (née Heinlee) Cochran of Leyton, Essex, England. His mother predeceased him in July 1943.

Plt Off. Cochran was promoted to Fg Off. whilst a PoW with effect 30th November 1942. Promulgated in the London Gazette on the 8th January 1943.

Fg Off. Cochran was Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) recognizing his conspicuous bravery as a PoW because none of the other relevant decorations then available could be awarded posthumously. Promulgated in the London Gazette 8th June 1944.

Researched by Ralph Snape and Traugott Vitz for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with additional thanks to Traugott for his work on the ‘VitzArchive’. Update to include PoW narratives (Sept 2023).

Thanks to ‘The War Graves Photographic Project (TWGPP)’ for their great work.

Other sources as quoted below:

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