Operation: Vierzon, France

Date: 30th June/1st July 1944 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit No: 100 Squadron, 1 Group

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: LM621

Code: HW:C

Base: RAF Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England

Location: Vouzon, Central France

Pilot: Plt Off. William Kay 171099 RAFVR Age 23. Id No: 78400 *, PoW No: 8054 ** (1 & 2)

Flt Eng: Sgt. Harry Dale 1512979 RAFVR Age 23. PoW No: 295 *** (3)

Nav: Flt Sgt. Frederick Harold 'Fred' Fulsher R225050 RCAF Age 27. Id No: 78418 *, PoW No: 8089 ** (1 & 4)

Bombardier: FO. James Douglas Frink DFC, T-223124 USAAF Age 23. Evader (5)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Ernest Harrop 1494660 RAFVR Age 34. Evader (6)

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Flt Sgt. John Eason Sharpley 2204552 RAFVR Age 19. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. William Edward Struck R197206 RCAF Age 20. Evader (7)

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

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

*** Stalag Luft 7 Bankau nr. Kreuzburg , Upper Silesia

RAF Grimsby: The existing airfield on this site was taken under Air Ministry control in July 1939 and then by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in May 1940. The airfield officially opened, after it was upgraded, during November 1941 and was initially used as a satellite airfield to nearby RAF Binbrook. Although the airfield was officially designated as RAF Grimsby it was known as RAF Waltham by both the local residents and service personnel on the base. This misnomer caused some confusion as there was an active airfield at RAF White Waltham near Maidenhead in Berkshire.

On the 2nd June 1944 this crew aboard Lancaster III, ND456 took off from RAF Grimsby at 23:45 hrs, but clipped the roof of a barn and severely damaged the undercarriage. After using up fuel and jettisoning the bomb load, crashed landed at 03:36 hrs at Woodbridge airfield in Suffolk. No injuries reported.

Above Left to Right: Plt Off. William Kay, Sgt. Harry Dale, Flt Sgt. Frederick Fulsher, FO. James Frink, Sgt. Ernest Harrop, Flt Sgt. John Sharpley, Sgt. William Struck. (Courtesy Mark Hanson)

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 30th June 1944 LM621 took off from RAF Grimsby at 22:00 hrs to join a force of 118 Lancasters from 1 Group tasked with attacking the railway yards at Vierzon, a small town south of Orléans. Two Lancasters from 100 Sqn failed to base and nothing was heard from either aircraft.

En route to the target LM621 was claimed by Hptm. Fritz Söthe, his 12th Abschuss and first of two this night, from 4./NJG4, 15 to 50 km east of Blois at 2.700m at 01:08 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (12 May 1944 - 23 July 1944) Part 3 - Theo Boiten).

He became Staffelkapitän of 4./NJG4 in August of 1944. On the night of the 28th September 1944 he was KiA when his Ju-88 was shot down by an 85 Sqn Mosquito flown by Flt Lt. Michael H.C. Phillips and Flt Lt. Derek V. Smith. Hptm. Söthe was credited with 18 Abschüsse. (Luftwaffe ACES - Biographies and Victory Claims (Mathews and Foreman) - Volume 4).

Note: On the night of the 6th November 1944 Flt Lt. Michael H.C. Phillips DFC and Flt Lt. Derek V. Smith DFC flying Mosquito NF.XIX, MM624 on a Bomber Support mission to Koblenz were hit by ‘Friendly Fire’ from a British bomber which set one of the engines on fire after which an unidentified German night-fighter shot them down NNE of Koblenz. Both survived and became PoWs.

The aircraft crashed at Vouzon in the commune in the of Loir-et-Cher department, 5 km (3 mls) NNE from Lamotte-Beuvron and some 46¾ kms (29¼ mls) due north of the target.

The second aircraft from 100 Sqn was Lancaster I LL958, HW:H which was claimed by Oblt. Jacob Schaus, his 20th Abschuss, from 4./NJG4, 15 to 20 km east of Blois at 3,000 m. at 01:35 hrs. Plt Off. J.E. Estall and his crew of six were KiA.

(1) On the 19th July 1944 Plt Off. Kay and Flt Sgt. Fulsher were betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo and taken to the Fresnes prison located to the south of Paris. This 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 who received 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.

They were transferred to Stalag Luft 3 over the period 15th to 20th October1944.

(2) Plt Off. Kay was promoted to Fg Off. on the 27th July 1944, whilst being a PoW.

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 remaining PoWs from the West Compound were sent 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. Kay was interviewed on then 9th May 1945.

After his release he remained in the RAF. He was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) on the on the 31st May 1956 and retired from the RAF as a Sqn Ldr. on the 22nd August 1975.

William Kay was born on the 22nd August 1920 in Bolton, Lancashire. He was employed as a Meat Purveyor in Bolton prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 10th May 1940. William passed away in June 2012 in Bolton, Lancashire.

(3) Sgt Dale was captured near Orléans after baling out. After the statuary processing and interrogation at Dulag Luft, Oberursel he was transferred to Stalag Luft 7, Bankau nr. Kreuzburg arriving there on the 13th July.

On the 19th January 1945, 1,500 prisoners marched out of the camp in the bitter cold. They crossed a bridge over the river Oderon the 21st January, reached Goldberg on the 5th February, and were loaded onto a train.

On the 8th February they reached Stalag 3Alocated about 52 km (32 mls) south of Berlinnear Luckenwalde, which already held 20,000 prisoners, consisting mainly of soldiers from Britain, Canada, the US and Russia

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. Sgt. Dale returned to the UK on the 20th May 1945 and was interviewed on the 24th May 1945.

Harry Dale was born on the 13th January 1921 in Sheffield, Yorkshire West Riding. He was a Cutlery stamper in Sheffield prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 23rd August 1941. Harry passed away in June 1993 in Sheffield, Yorkshire West Riding.

(4) Flt Sgt. Fulsher was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) whilst at Stalag Luft 3.

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 1945 WO2. Fulsher 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. It appears the WO2. Fulsher was amongst those on the forced march as he is listed as “missing en-route” and as he was interviewed on the 10th April it is probable that he was amongst those that escaped from the column and was liberated by British forces.

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.

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.

Frederick Harold Fulsher was born on the 25th October 1917 in Winnipeg, Canada. He initially enlisted in the Canadian Army on the 19th July 1940 and transferred to the RCAF on the 27th February 1942. Frederick passed away on the 21st April 1989 in Middlechurch, Manitoba, Canada.

Above death announcement of Frederick H. Fulsher (Courtesy of The Winnipeg Sun, dated 25th April 1989)

(5) The following is a summary statement given by Flight Officer (FO = Warrant Officer (WO)) James D. Frink T-223124 in his Escape & Evasion Report on the 13th August 1944.

"We were shot down on the night of 30th June/1st July while on a mission to Vierzon south of Orléans. I bailed out safely, buried my parachute, harness and Mae West and spent the night hiding in the woods. Next day I asked a farmer for food and directions, which he gave me. He also took me to the nearby town of Ménestreau-en-Villette, where I made contact with the local underground organisation. They had found Plt Off. Kay, Flt Sgt. Fulsher, and Sgt. Struck of our crew.

The four of us spent the period from the 1st to the 12th July in a house near Ménestreau-en-Villette where we cared for by the local Maquis. There were few German around but the Maquis made us stay hidden.

On the 12th July the four of us left for Normandy, with the idea of getting back through our lines. Shortly after leaving Ménestreau-en-Villette the four of us separated with myself and Sgt. Struck heading west to Mamers, where we contacted the Resistance and stayed until the 20th July, after which we were sent on to Montmirail.

We were taken care of by a private family until the 11th August after which we sent in a cheese truck to Vibraye. There were false Resistance rumours that the Germans were going to arrest everyone in the neighbourhood, so we went at once to Saint-Mars-la-Brière and the next day, leaving Sgt. Struck there, I went on to Le Mans, where I was picked up by US troops and then sent to 80th Division Headquarters where I was were questioned.

Instead of being able to get back to Saint-Mars-la-Brière to collect Sgt. Struck I was taken on to La Ferté-Bernard where I was arrested as a straggler on the orders of a US Army Colonel. I was in the Combat operations Centre (CoC) of the 206th Engineer (Combat) Battalion at the time. I think he was in command of the outfit. I was taken to Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) in La Ferté-Bernard, but I was soon released".

FO. Frink was repatriated to the USA aboard an Air Transport Command (ATC) flight from Prestwick to Washington, DC via Harmon Field, Stephenville in Newfoundland on the 9th August 1944.

(6) Sgt. Harrop After he had baled out he landed heavily hurting his right side in a field close to Vouzon. He hid his parachute and Mae West in a wood and returned later to bury them after which he started walking.

He came upon a farmhouse where the farmer took him in and put him to bed. The next day, on 1st July, the farmer called a doctor, who told him that he had bruised ribs. He was then sent to the woods close by where he lived in a hut for five (5) days. During this time the people of the village brought him a cigarette case and some remains which he was able to identify as belonging to Flt Sgt. Sharpley.

On the fifth day he returned to the farmhouse where he remained until the 17th August. That day he developed pains in his right side and the doctor diagnosed it as appendicitis. The next day he was taken by car to an American clearing station in Orléans, some 37km (23 mils) to the north, where he stayed for one day. He was then sent to No. 32 American Hospital and was operated upon for his appendicitis.

On the 23rd August he was taken to an air strip south of Paris and flown to England. He was then taken was to an American hospital at Everleigh, which was about 17km (1½ mls) NW of Andover, where he stayed until the 25th September. He was then sent to RAF hospital Wroughton and was discharged on the 10th October.

Ernest Harrop was born on the 24th June 1910 in Chadderton, Lancashire. Prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 23rd September 1942 he was employed in the Cotton industry. Ernest passed away in August 1988 in Leicestershire.

(7) Sgt. Struck was liberated by US forces at Montmirail on the 13th August 1944. He left for the UK from the Allied Beachhead by air on the 18th August and landed at RAF Northolt.

Burial details:

Flt Sgt. John Eason Sharpley. Vouzon Communal Cemetery Mil. Plot. Grave 1. Born in the 1st Qtr of 1925 in Burnley, Lancashire. Son of Walter and Marion Nairne E (née Weir) Sharpley of Ormskirk, Lancashire, England.

Note: Vouzon is a village and commune some 54 km (33½ mls) east of Blois and 5 km (3 mls) NE of the town of Lamotte-Beuvron. The cemetery is north of the village and north of the road to Sennely. The one British airman’s grave is right on the entrance against the southern wall.

Researched by Ralph Snape and dedicated to the relatives of this crew. Thanks to Mark Hanson for the information about his grandfather, Sgt. Dale (Jan 2023). Thanks again to Mark Hanson for the crew photograph (Mar 2023). Correction to crew identities provided by Mark Hanson (Feb 2025). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Feb 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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