Operation: Turin, Italy

Date: 12th/13th January 1941 (Sunday/Monday)

Unit No: 149 (East India) Sqn, 3 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Wellington IC

Serial: T2807

Code: OJ:R

Base: RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk

Location: Near Venice Beach, Italy

Pilot: Sgt. Richard Arthur ‘Dickie’ Hodgson DFM, 748175 RAFVR Age 20. Escaped (1)

2nd Pilot: Plt Off. Leslie Kenneth Sloan Wilson 81026 RAF Age 20. PoW No. 2547 * (2)

Obs: Sgt. Leslie William ‘Les’ Hatherly 759243 RAF Age 32. PoW No. 260523 **(3)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Edwin Ernest ‘Lofty’ Harding 755710 MiD, RAFVR Age 20. PoW ** (4)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. James Anthony ‘Jim’ MacAnally 969038 RAF Age 25. PoW No. 260747 ** (5)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Charles Frederick Pummery 755709 RAF Age 20. PoW No. 138981 *** (6)

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

** Stalag 4B Mühlberg, Sachsen, Germany

*** Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland

REASON FOR LOSS:

Hodgson's crew attacked the secondary target, which they hit. Then they carried out a low-level run across Venice, dropping bundles of propaganda leaflets. It was then that the Wellington was hit. Bullets burst all around Wilson and Harding the Wireless Operator. Hodgson yelled over the intercom "We're on fire”!

They had flown right over the only armed naval patrol ship in the lagoon. Wilson reckoned that the wimpy must have been doing 200 mph as they hit the water. The front-gunner Sgt. Pummery was still in his turret. Incredibly all crew members survived without injury. They were rescued by the Regia Marina and taken to an island south of Venice.

(1) Sgt. Hodgson was captured that day and held on the island of Poveglia in Venice and then transferred to PG 78, Sulmona in L’Aquila

In September 1943, as the Italian government neared collapse, the inmates of Sulmona heard rumours that the evacuation of the camp was imminent. They awoke one morning to discover that their guards had deserted. On the 14th September, German troops arrived to escort the PoW northwards, to captivity in Germany, but not before hundreds of them had escaped into the hills.

He was one of the PoWs who escaped and headed south where he rejoined Allied forces.

Sgt Hodgson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) whilst with 149 Sqn (London Gazette 9th May 1941).

Warrant Officer (WO) Hodgson was appointed to a commission and promoted to 175647 Plt Off. effective 5th May 1944 (London Gazette 13th June 1944). He was confirmed in his appointment as a Plt Off. and promoted to Fg Off. effective 5th November 1944 (London Gazette 26th December 1944). He was promoted to Flt Lt. effective 5th May 1946 (London Gazette 31st May 1946).

Richard Arthur Hodgson was born on the 3rd May 1920 in Lewisham, London. No further biographical information found.

In April 2018 Graham Underwood contacted us:

"The crash in 1941 is well known to me as the captain 'Dickie' Hodgson was my stepfather-in law and we spent many good times sailing together. He was flying low over Venice lido after bombing the oil tanks, trying to avoid flak when the aircraft was hit, one engine caught fire and most of that wing was destroyed. He remembered clearly that the aircraft immediately entered a full 360 roll and only by chance happened to be upright when it struck the water. Photos online show the damage and the Italian launch that came out to rescue them. All the crew were unharmed and all eventually returned home. One member joined the IRA and another was ordained into the church. Dickie kept contact with Les for many years.

At one time, they knew that it was very rare to actually see a night fighter, but for some reason they seemed to have regular contacts. The crew were horrified to find that the rear gunner was carrying a torch in his turret and was 'fishing' for them.

Contrary to many reports (webmaster note: including ours until advised by Graham), he did not 'evade capture' but was transferred to Sulmona PoW camp with the NCOs of his crew. I don't know where the officers went. Whilst in the camp he formed and ran the sailing club, holding committee meetings and regattas quite undeterred by the complete absence of boats or water. He spent several miserable years there on severely reduced rations and after the armistice he, with his observer Les walked out and made their way down through Italy until they reached the advancing US forces. Six months later he was home.

Photographs above and below showing Dickie Hodgson during his retirement years

When he eventually arrived back home, having been awarded DFM - he found that his squadron was bombing the same targets that they had been doing when he crashed - he was told that he could choose any posting he wanted, except Mosquitos because everyone wanted those. He chose multi engine, with an eye to a commercial future and rapidly qualified on Dakotas, which he then flew in the Berlin Airlift. A rich career followed with BEA, first on Ambassadors, then Comets and finally many years of Tridents 1 and 3. He was proud that he had every single Trident in his logbook.

Sadly, his last few years were in care with advanced dementia and he died there in 2011".

Further information on James MacAnally, notes from his daughter: It turned out my Mum was pregnant with Margaret the eldest daughter. My father then didn’t see her till she was about 4 and half when he got home from the War. Then they went on to have nine children. Margaret, Padraig, Monica, Veronica, John (RIP), Jim, Marie Anne, Marty, and Gus who was was born in Australia 1962.

I have heard him say the following;

“The first night they crashed, they took refuge in an old monastery on top of a hill.”

When the family travelled to Australia in December 1961 and the ship was berthed for a day at Naples, my father tried to get to an old monastery at the top of a hill. We took a tram and there was a lot of walking for us uphill but he didn’t get to where he wanted.

I heard him tell this story to a mate one night;

“We escaped. I was with a Frenchman. We ran across an open area and climbed over a very high fence. I don’t know how we did it but we did. We ran and the first night we took refuge in an old barn house. We were hungry and didn’t know what food looked like. In the camp some men would eat numbes. We ate something that was lying on the floor and it turned out to be rat bait. We were very sick from that.”

In July 2021 Kate Wilson, a Granddaughter of James MacAnally, has contacted us and provided us with a link to the story of the crew and crash written by Sgt. Hodgson.

(2) Plt Off. Wilson was captured that day and held on the island of Poveglia in Venice from the 28th January and then transferred to PG 78, Sulmona in L’Aquila where he remained until the 17th June 1942.

He made one attempt to escape from the camp in May 1941 but was recaptured with an hour and in the process suffered a buckshot wound to his hand.

He was then transferred to PG 5 Gavi-Serravalle, Scrivia until the 13th September 1943. The camp was some 20 miles (32 km) north of Genoa. It was turned over to the Germans when the Italians capitulated. However, for 24 hours, obeying an order of the War Office the British PoW senior officer refused to allow prisoners to attempt an escape. He was then transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia in Germany arriving there on the 1st October 1943.

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 who were sent to Marlag und Milag Nord 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. 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-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.

It is not clear if he was on the forced-march or that he remained at the camp as the lists are not complete. 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. Wilson was interview on the 6th May 1945.

Plt Off. Wilson was confirmed in his appointment as a Plt Off. and promoted to Fg Off. effective 25th June 1941 (London Gazette 30th September 1941). He was promoted to Flt Lt. effective 25th June 1942 (London Gazette 11th September 1942).

Flt Lt. Wilson reverted to the Southern Rhodesian Forces with a service number of SR 81026 on the 26th August 1945. (London Gazette 29th January 1946).

Leslie Kenneth Sloan Wilson was born on the 10th August 1920 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He was a student prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 1st October 1939. Leslie passed way on the 19th March 1992 in Harare in Zimbabwe.

(3) Sgt. Hatherly was captured that day and held on the island of Poveglia in Venice from the 13th January until 28th January when he was transferred to PG 78, Sulmona in L’Aquila until the 11th September 1943

In September 1943, as the Italian government neared collapse, the inmates of Sulmona heard rumours that the evacuation of the camp was imminent. On the 11th September they awoke discover that their guards had deserted. On the 14th September, German troops arrived to escort the PoW northwards, to captivity in Germany, but not before hundreds of them had escaped into the hills.

Sgt. Hatherly in the company of Sgt. Harding left the camp and made for the Allied lines. He was recaptured by the Germans on three and managed to escape twice more and evaded for a total of 15 days. Sgt. Harding was captured after this first attempt.

Sgt. Hatherly was transferred to Zeithain in Germany arriving there on the 1st October. Around the 20th October he was transferred to Stalag 4B Mühlberg in Sachsen.

The camp was liberated by the Soviet Army which arrived on the 23rd April 1945. The camp held some 30,000 and of these 7,250 were British. The Soviet’s held the British and American prisoners in the camp for over a month. The then Warrant Officer (WO) Hatherly was interviewed on the 28th May 1945.

Leslie William Hatherly was born on the 31st July 1918 in Edmonton, Middlesex. He was an Engineering Student in London prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 29th August 1939. Leslie passed way on the 20th January 2010 in Uxbridge, Middlesex.

(4) No ‘General Questionnaire for British/American Ex-PoWs’ for Sgt. Harding has been found. However, it is known that he was at Stalag 4B Mühlberg, Sachsen in Germany so it can be assumed that his journey to the camp and thereafter is similar to Sgt. Hatherly and Sgt. MacAnally.

Sgt. Harding was Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) which was promulgated in the London Gazette 1st January 1945.

Warrant Officer (WO) Harding was appointed to a commission and promoted to 198149 Plt Off. effective 10th May 1945 (London Gazette 10th July 1945). He was confirmed in his appointment as a Plt Off. and promoted to Fg Off. effective 10th November 1945 (London Gazette 7th December 1946).

Edwin Ernest Harding was born on the 12th April 1920 in Greenwich, London. Edwin passed away in the 1st Qtr of 1998 in Stockport, Cheshire.

(5) Sgt. MacAnally was captured that day with slight injuries to his head and nose and held on the island of Poveglia in Venice and was then transferred to PG 78, Sulmona in L’Aquila where he remained until October 1943.

In September 1943, as the Italian government neared collapse, the inmates of Sulmona heard rumours that the evacuation of the camp was imminent. They awoke one morning to discover that their guards had deserted. On the 14th September, German troops arrived to escort the PoW northwards, to captivity in Germany, but not before hundreds of them had escaped into the hills. Sgt. MacAnally was one of those that escaped but was recaptured four (4) days later by German paratroopers.

At the PoW Camp - Sgt. James MacAnally front, 2nd from left. it was 2 years before they were listed as missing before they received news that the crew were prisoners. The camp Padre sent this photo to the family assuring them of their captivity rather than lost. (courtesy Veronica Ford)

He was then transferred to Stalag 4B Mühlberg, Sachsen in Germany. On the 14th April he escaped outside of Leipzig by marching into some woods with a Frenchman. The remained hidden in Leipzig until the city was liberated by American forces.

The then Warrant Officer (WO) MacAnally was interviewed on the 24th April 1945.

He was appointed to a commission in the RAFVR Training Branch and promoted to Plt Off. effective 11th April 1949 (London Gazette 19th July 1949). He was promoted to Fg Off. effective 19th July 1951 (London Gazette 23rd October 1951).

He resigned his commission retaining the rank of Flt Lt. on the 1st November 1961 (London Gazette 13th February 1962).

James Anthony MacAnally was born on the 26th February 1915 in Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland. He was a Commercial Traveller prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 27th September 1939. James passed away on the 28th February 1966 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

(6) Sgt. Pummery was captured that day and held on the island of Poveglia in Venice and then transferred to PG 78, Sulmona in L’Aquila on the 28th January where he remained until the 3rd October 1943.

In September 1943, as the Italian government neared collapse, the inmates of Sulmona heard rumours that the evacuation of the camp was imminent. They awoke one morning to discover that their guards had deserted. On the 14th September, German troops arrived to escort the PoW northwards, to captivity in Germany, but not before hundreds of them had escaped into the hills.

Sgt. Pummery was transferred to Stalag 7A, Moosburg in Bavaria arriving there on the 9th October 1943 and on the 3rd November 1943 he was moved to Stalag 11A, South of Dörnitz in Saxony-Anhalt, which was located east of the village of Altengrabow about 90 km (56 mi) SW of Berlin, arriving there on the 6th November 1943.

On the 30th March 1944 he was amongst the PoWs who were transferred to Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland arriving there on the 1st April

On the 12th August 1944 the PoWs were force-marched from Thorn (Toruń) in Poland to the site of the former Stalag 11D, with construction being carried out by the Italian PoW from Stalag 11B arriving there on the 14th August. The camp was commonly known as Stalag 357, Fallingbostal but 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 is believed that he was not amongst those on the forced march as his ‘General Questionnaire for British/American Ex-PoWs’ records that was there on the 16th April 1945 when the amp was liberated 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.

The then Warrant Officer (WO) Pummery was interviewed on the 20th April 1945.

WO. Pummery was appointed to an OBE(M) which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 1st January 1957.

Charles Frederick Pummery was born on the 2nd May 1920 in Lamberth, London. He was employed as an electrician in Streatham, London prior to enlisting in the RAF on the 28th July 1939. Charles passed away in the 1st Qtr of 2000 in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England.

Burial details:

None - all crew survived

Researched by Michel Beckers for Aircrew Remembered, February 2016. Photographs from the Michel Beckers collection. Photo of Sgt. James MacAnally courtesy John Ford (grandchild of James Anthony MacAnally and Monica Mary Therese MacAnally) With thanks also to Veronica Ford for additional information / photographs of Sgt. James Anthony MacAnally - May 2017. Thanks to Kate Wilson, a Granddaughter of James MacAnally for the additional information (July 2021). PoW information updated and correction to aircraft Mk. by Aircrew Remembered (Apr 2022). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered with thanks also to Kate Wilson (Sep 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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