Operation: Stettin, Poland

Date: 5th/6th January 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit No: 97 (Straits Settlements) Squadron, 8 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: JB191

Code: OF:A

Base: RAF Bourn, Cambridgeshire

Location: NW of Stettin, Germany

Pilot: Plt Off. Victor Samuel Flack 149951 RAFVR Age 22. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. John Alfred Hare 647127 RAF Age 23. KiA

Nav: Fg Off. Kenneth Peter Rand 133214 RAFVR Age 22. KiA (1)

Bomb Aimer: Fg Off. Ronald George Boston 127793 RAFVR Age 24. PoW No. 3295 * (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Robert Ferguson 1330850 RAFVR Age? KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): WO2. Harry Norman Dunnett R181089 Age 19. RCAF KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. John Roberts 1089013 RAFVR Age 38. KiA

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

Above: WO2. Harry N. Dunnett from his Service Record

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 5th/6th January 1944 eighteen (18) aircraft from the squadron took-off and joined a force of 348 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes in the first raid on this target since September 1941. Of the fourteen (14) Lancasters lost from the force two (2) were from 97 Sqn.

JB191 and 35 Sqn Halifax JP123 was claimed by Oblt. Paul Zorner, his 19th and 20th Abschuss, from 8./NJG3. The two bombers were shot down NW of the target at 6.000m. and 5.700m. at 03:42 hrs and 03:51 hrs. Either could have been at the altitudes and times specified. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (1 January 1944 - 15 March 1944) Part 1 - Theo Boiten).

It is believed that the aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Lüskow, which is some 74 km (45 mls) NW of Stettin (today Szczecin) and where the crew that perished were initially buried.

The second aircraft from the Sqn that failed to return was:

Lancaster III JB720 OF:S which was shot down by a German night-fighter near Tutow. Fg Off. Jack Anstee and five (5) of his crew were KiA and one was a PoW.

(1) A biography for Fg Off. Kenneth Peter Rand. (Courtesy of Simon Muggleton).

(2) The “General Questionnaire for British/American Ex-PoWs” for Fg Off. Boston has not been found. However, from other records it is possible to determine the general dates and locations of his journey as a PoW.

After being captured he would have been sent to Dulag Luft, Oberursel for the statutory interrogation. Record show that he was then sent to the Belaria compound of Stalag Luft 3.

The Belaria compound was opened in January 1944. Around the 1st January some 500 British PoWs from the east and centre compounds of Stalag Luft 3 were sent to Belaria which was situated about 5 km (3 mls) west of Stalag Luft 3 on a grassy hill overlooking Sagan.

He was promoted to Flt Lt. with effect the 2nd July 1944 which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 21st July 1944.

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.

Flt Lt. Boston was amongst the PoWs that were sent to Stalag 3A at Luckenwalde on the 2nd February. 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.

Ronald George Boston was born on the 31st December 1919 in Luton, Bedfordshire. Prior to enlisting in the RAFVR he was employed as a wages clerk at an Iron Foundry. Ronald passed away on the 22nd March 1991 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

Burial details:

The crew that perished were recovered from the Lüskow cemetery and finally laid to rest at the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery on the 1st December 1948.

Above: Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves commission)

Plt Off. Victor Samuel Flack. Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery 8.H.13. Born in the 4th Qtr of 1921 in Southwark, Greater London. Son of Samuel Victor and Hannah (née Axton) Flack of Croydon, Surrey, England.

Sgt. John Alfred Hare. Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery 8.H.17. Grave Inscription: “AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”. Born on the 23rd March 1920 in Wandsworth, London. Son of William and Mabel Esther (née Parnacott) Hare of Woolton, Lancashire, England

Fg Off. Kenneth Peter Rand. Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery 8.H.15. Grave Inscription: "AND FROM THE GROUND THERE BLOSSOMS RED LIFE THAT SHALL ENDLESS BE". Born on the 21st August 1921 in Hackney, Greater London. Son of Richard Walter and Ethel Matilda (née Vince) Rand of Ealing, Middlesex, England.

Sgt. Robert Ferguson. Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery 8.H.16. No corroborated Next of Kin or biographical information has been found.

WO2. Harry Norman Dunnett. Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery 8.H.18. Grave Inscription: “IN THE GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE WE MEET EVERY DAY. MOTHER, DAD, SISTERS AND BROTHER”. Born on the 11th March 1924 in Lumby, British Columbia. Son of Harry Norman and Charlotte Binnington (née Harman) Dunnett of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Sgt. John Roberts. Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery 8.H.14. Grave Inscription: “WE SHALL MEET HIM SOME BRIGHT MORNING RESTING BY THE WATERS FAIR. "RESTING"”. Husband of Jessica Morfydd Roberts of Maesteg, Glamorgan, Wales.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered with thanks to Simon Muggleton for Fg Off. Rand’s Biography (Mar 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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