Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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12 Squadron Wellington II W5421 PH:G Flt Lt. Roy Brouard Langlois DFC

Operation: Aachen, Germany

Date: 5th/6th August 1941 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Unit: 12 Squadron, 1 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Wellington II

Serial: W5421

Code: PH:G

Base: RAF Binbrook

Location: Antwerpen-Deurne airfield, Belgium

Pilot: Flt Lt. Roy Brouard Langlois DFC 37938 RAF Age 24. PoW No. 653 * (1)

2nd Pilot: Sgt. John ‘Jack’ Warren McLarnon 961321 RAFVR Age 26. PoW No. 139328 ** (2)

Nav: Sgt. Harold Joseph Edwin Burrell 962985 RAFVR Age 23. PoW No. 139375 *** (2)

Air Gnr (Front): Sgt. Jack Lamport Newton 742570 RAFVR Age 21. Evd (3)

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Richard Alfred Copley 748217 RAFVR Age 21. PoW No. 23464 **** (4)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Robert Douglas Porteous 402134 RNZAF Age 23. PoW No: 32409 ****** (2 & 5)

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

** Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria.

*** Stalag 11A, South of Dörnitz in Saxony-Anhalt.

**** Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland. Moved in September 1944. The camp was commonly referred to as Stalag 357 Fallingbostel.

***** Stalag 8A, Görlitz, Lower Silesia, east of the River Neisse (now Zgorzelec, Poland).

REASON FOR LOSS

On the night of the 5th/6th August 1941 the Squadron detailed five (5) Wellingtons to bomb targets at Aachen in Germany. W5421 was the only aircraft from the Squadron that failed to return.

En Route to the target the aircraft developed severe engine trouble and just south of Aachen they jettisoned their bombs before turning for home. Over Antwerp the aircraft began to lose altitude and after being coned by searchlights they decided to land. They did not know until just before the aircraft touched down at 02:30 hrs that they were landing on an aerodrome which turned out to be the Antwerpen-Deurne airfield, which is some 4½ km SE of Antwerp and 3¾ km south of Deurne (today this is the Antwerp International Airport (ANR)).

At that time as Allied aircraft were passing over Antwerp and dropping bombs, the German personnel at the aerodrome were in the air-raid shelters so the crew were undisturbed whilst they destroyed the aircraft and its contents, and made their escape. After climbing the perimeter barbed wire they hid to consider their course of action.

They decided to split into two parties of three with Flt Lt. Langoise DFC, Sgt. Copley and Sgt. Newton in one group with Sgt. Mclaren, Sgt. Burrell and Sgt. Porteous in the other. Flt Lt. Langoise DFC, Sgt. Copley and Sgt. Newton walked southwards for about two hours until they reached the village of Boechout, some 8 km (5 mls) SE of Antwerp.

After resting at a farmhouse they resumed walking and met a man on a bicycle who spoke to them in English and asked if they were British. He then directed them to a cornfield where they hid while he went to Antwerp to consult a friend about them. At about 22:30 hrs he returned and they spent the night at a farmhouse. The next morning found civilian clothes were ready for them. On the afternoon of the 6th August a young women arrived and guided them by tram to Antwerp to the house of a banker.

On the morning of 7th August the banker and the young women took them by train to Liege, where they lived in the house of a doctor until the 11th August after which they were moved to another house in Liege.

One night whilst in Liege at about 21:30 hrs Sgt. Newton and a Belgian guide were stopped by Gendarmes. The inspection of their identity cards found them unsatisfactory and took them to their police station. On the way they shoved the Gendarmes over and ran off in the opposite direction and successfully escaped.

On the 14th August they went by train to Brussels and upon arrival Sgt. Newton, Flt Lt. Langoise and Sgt. Copley were split up and taken to different addresses.

(1) Flt Lt. Langlois DFC, was captured on the 1st October 1941 in Brussels. He was held at the Saint-Gilles Prison in Brussels where he was interrogated and threatened to be shot by the Gestapo until he was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 15th October.

He was then transferred to Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Vogelsang arriving there on the 7th November 1941. Whilst here he was involved in an unsuccessful tunnelling escape. On the 22nd March 1942 he, in advance of all 800 inmates in April, was transferred to the newly constructed Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Silesia.

It is not know what role he played in the tunnelling operations but he was one of the two-hundred (200) officers selected for the escape.

On the night of the 24th/25th March 1944, seventy-six (76) officers escaped from the north compound of Stalag Luft 3 which, at that time, held between 1000 and 1500 RAF PoWs. The escape was made by the means of a tunnel. At about 05:00 hrs on the 25th March the 77th PoW was spotted by guards as he emerged from the tunnel.

Flt Lt. Langlois’ task after exiting the tunnel was to keep watch on the guards and Machine-Gun post from a nearby wood until the 80th officer had exited the tunnel after which he was free to leave. However, by the time the 76th was emerging from the tunnel it was 05:15 hrs and broad daylight. As a guard was approaching he gave the signal on the rope for the man to lay still. (Ref 1. p 193)

The guard then noticed the trail in the snow made by the crawling bodies which he visually followed back to the entrance of the tunnel where steam was rising. When the guard raised his rifle one of the escaped officers stepped out of the wood and shouted out for the guard not to shoot. From his hiding place Flt Lt. Langlois rolled out next to this officer and surrendered. (Ref 1. p 193).

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. Langlois was amongst those who, on the 2nd February, was sent to Marlag und Milag Nord at Westertimke arriving there on the 4th February.

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’.

Above as described (Courtesy IBCC)

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, which included Flt Lt. Brodrick, 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.

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. Langlois is not listed amongst those that remained at the camp, escaped the column or at Lübeck but the lists are incomplete. He was interviewed on the 5th May 1945.

Roy Brouard Langlois was born on the 10th May 1917 in Guernsey, Channel Islands. He enlisted in the RAF on the 18th May 1936. Roy passed away on the 25th February 1993 in Brightlingsea, Essex.

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Fg Off. Langlois was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), whilst with 6 (Bomber) Squadron flying the Hawker Hardy and Gloucester Gauntlet out of RAF Ramleh. Promulgated in the London Gazette on the 22nd December 1939.

General citation: “For Gallant and distinguished services rendered in conjunction with operations in Palestine during the period 1st April and 30th July 1939”.

(Above: Thought to show W5421 New July 1941 (Courtesy IBCC)

2) Sgt. McLarnon, Sgt. Burrell and Sgt. Porteous wandered around until dawn and then hid until the following night. A local peasant whom they contacted took a message to the American Consul who did not exist. However the Consulate contacted the Underground who collected them the following afternoon. They were hidden in Antwerp and on the 9th September took the train to Brussels.

They crossed into unoccupied France on the afternoon of the 13th September. While at a Café in Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux, where they were to pick their next guide, a gendarme became suspicious and asked to see their papers. Not satisfied with their papers and their answers he arrested them and took them to his gendarmerie where their RAF identifies were established.

As they were in the custody of the Vichy authorities they were interned at Saint Hippolyte-du-Fort in Gard, France. In March 1942 they were transferred to Fort de la Revère in Nice, France.

Sgt. McLarnon escaped from Fort de la Revère on the 21st March 1942 with four (4) companions, Sgt. R.D. Porteous, Sgt. D. Nabarro, Sgt. Saxton and Sgt. Dalphond. They descended a coal chute after opening the grill at the top with a forged key and squeezed through into the kitchen below. They cut through the window bars and climbed though into the moat and into a connecting sewer and escaped. Sgt. Saxton injured his ribs in the shaft and was unable to proceed. The others were recaptured at Monte Carlo.

Sgt. Derek D.W. Nabarro 999513 RAFVR was the 2nd Pilot of 10 Sqn, Whitley V Z6561;

Sgt. Robert William Audley ‘Bob’ Saxton 758174 RAFVR was the Observer from 101 Sqn, Wellington Ic R1699 which force-landed in France on the night of the 10th/11th September 1941 (6 Evd);

Sgt. Melville Hernis Joseph Dalphond DFM, R60726 RCAF was the Wireless Op/Air Gunner from 405 Sqn, RCAF Wellington Ic W5551 which was shot down by Flak on a mission to Brest on the 24th July 1941 (1 KiA, 2 PoW, 3 Evd).

Sgt. Nabarro, Sgt. Saxton and Sgt. Dalphond escaped again and were three (3) of the twenty-four (24) who were evacuated to the UK on the 21st September 1942 aboard the felucca Seawolf from Canet-Plage, near Perignon on “Operation Titania”.

On the 17th September 1942 Sgt. McLarnon, Sgt. Burrell and Sgt. Porteous were transferred a Camp de Chambaran, Isère. Whilst here Sgt. McLarnon was amongst a mass escape of fifty-nine (59) PoWs. He was recaptured in hills behind Nice after approximately 40 hours on the run.

On the 10th December 1942 Sgt. McLarnon and Sgt. Burrell were transferred to PG 73, Capri near Modena in Italy arriving there two days later.

During September 1943 Sgt. McLarnon and Sgt. Burrell were transferred to Stalag 7A, Moosburg in Bavaria. Two (2) months later they were transferred to Stalag 11A which was south of Dörnitz in Saxony-Anhalt, about 90 km (56 mi) south-west of Berlin.

They were transferred to Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland on the 30th March 1944 arriving there on the 1st April. On the 1st September 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. 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 (Col) 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 does not appear that the now Warrant Officers (WO) McLarnon and Burrell were amongst those on the forced-march. The camp 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. WO. McLarnon and WO. Burrell were interviewed on the 20th April 1945.

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John Warren McLarnon was born on the 17th December 1914 in Dublin. He was a Manufacturers Agent prior to enlisted in the RAFVR during April 1940. John passed away in the 1st Qtr of 1982 in Congleton and Crewe, Cheshire.

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Harold Joseph Edwin Burrell was born on the 18th October 1917 in Walsall, Staffordshire. He was a Cost Accountant prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 8th April 1940. After returning to England he became a teacher. On the 24th May 1954 Harold committed suicide at his home in Great Barr, Birmingham. The outcome of the Coroner’s inquest was that he did so whilst the balance of his mind was temporarily disturbed.

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(3) Sgt. Newton spent rather more than a week at this accommodation and then he was taken to Waterloo, where he stayed for six or seven weeks from mid-September to October. While there he met a Sgt. Birk and Sgt. Day. Towards the end of October Sgt. Newton was moved to Ixelles in Brussels.

Sgt. Hilary Eldred Birk 402634 RAAF was the 2nd Pilot from 99 Sqn Wellington Ic X9761 which was lost on the night of the 28th/29th September 1941on a mission to Frankfurt (3 PoW, 3 Evd). He was Comet No. 7;

Sgt. Albert Day R10263 RCAF was the 2nd Pilot from 77 Sqn Whitley V Z6826 which was hit by Flak and abandoned near Meulebeke in Belgium on the night of the 5th/6th August 1941 (4 PoW, 1 Evd). He was Comet No. 10.

He was sheltered at the home of a nurse who contacted the Comet Organisation which arranged for him in late November to move to a house in Schaerbeek in Brussels, where Sgt. Birk and Sgt. Day were already staying.

About the middle of December a party consisting of Sgt. Newton, Plt Off. Carroll, Sgt. Birk and unnamed Belgian left Brussels station. He took the place of Sgt. Day who had pneumonia. At a railway station on the Franco-Belgian frontier they were joined by two (2) young Belgian women who acted as their guides all the way to Bilbao in Spain.

Plt Off. Howard Bertram Carroll 68806 RAFVR was the 2nd Pilot from 207 Sqn Manchester I L7321 which was shot down by a night-fighter on the night of the 13th/14th October 1941 on a mission to Köln (5 KiA, 2 Evd). He was Comet No. 8.

Flt Lt. Carroll MiD, was killed whilst flying Spitfire XI, PL987 of the BAFO Communications Wing which flew into trees on its approach to RAF Gatow in poor visibility and was destroyed. Flt Lt. Howard Bertram Carroll is buried in Hannover War Cemetery.

They continued by train to Mons and after spending a night in a farmhouse, crossed the river Somme by boat near the Australian War Memorial. They then took the train from a small station south of Mons, changing twice en route in order avoid the controls on the through train. They arrived in Paris in the morning and at about 21:00 hrs caught the train for Bordeaux.

Above Jack and Mary Newton wedding day (Courtesy IBCC)

From there they went to Biarritz where and stayed for a day before carrying on to Anglet, which is between Bayonne and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where they stayed at a farm for two (2) days. Here they met their guides, who were Basque smugglers, who were to take them over the Pyrenees into Spain.

On their first attempt they got as far as the frontier but the Bidassoa river was too high to ford or swim at that time. The next night they took a more southerly route and crossed the river on a footbridge into Spain. There was a customs post at the bridge but although the post was lite the two Customs officials were asleep.

They then walked to Irun and stayed in the basement of a water tower on a hill above the town while the Belgian girl contacted a man in San Sebastian. When she returned they caught the train to San Sebastian. As the British Consulate was being watched by Spanish guards they stayed at the house of the man the guide had visited.

The next day they went to Bilbao and stayed at the Seamen's Mission for about six (6) days while arrangements were being made to take them to Madrid. They reached Madrid a week before Christmas and were sent to Gibraltar. Sgt. Newton reached Gibraltar on the 4th January 1942 and left Gibraltar on the 13th January 1942 arriving at Pembroke Dock the next day.

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Whilst Sgt. Newton was evading he was given a smuggled letter which was to be sent to the mother of Sgt. Donald Arthur Boutle should he was successful in returning to the UK. The letter had been written by a Sgt. James I.B. Walker who was a PoW and at the time of writing the letter was in a hospital in Belgium with Sgt. Boutle.

They were the Rear Gunner and Navigator respectively from 115 Sqn Wellington 1C R1471 which was shot down by a German night-fighter on a mission to Mannheim, Germany on the night of the 5th/6th August 1941. (6 PoWs)

Above: The smuggled letter and covering letter from Sgt. Newton (courtesy Jude Boutle)

Upon his return to the UK the letter was sent to Mrs Boutle on the 17th January 1942 with a covering letter explaining who he was and how he came about the letter.

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Flt Sgt. Newton was appointed to a Commission and promoted to 127780 Plt Off. effective from the 2nd July 1942. (London Gazette, 1st September 1942). He was promoted to Fg Off. with effect 2nd January 1943 (London Gazette, 16th April 1943).

On the 3rd July 1943 he was transferred to the Administration and Special Duties Branch. (London Gazette 30th July 1943). On the 1st November 1947 he was granted the substantive rank of Fg Off. (London Gazette 16th January 1948). On the 1st July 1964 he relinquished his commission (London Gazette, 17th July 1964).

The book 'Evader' by Derek Shuff, ISBN: 9780752457482, has the full story about Jack Newton's evasion.

Jack Lamport Newton was born on the 4th February 1920 in Hampstead, London. He was a Civil Servant in the Engineering Department of the General Post Office (GPO) prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 27th November 1938. Jack passed away on the 27th January 2004 at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, East Sussex.

(4) Flt Sgt. Copley was arrested on the 29th September 1941 in Brussels. He was held at Saint-Gilles Prison in Brussels until he was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberusel arriving there on the 11th October. After the statutory solitary confinement and interrogation he was transferred to Stalag 8B, Lamsdorf on the 15th October arriving there on the 18th October.

On the 3rd May 1942 he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia in Germany arriving there the next day. Whilst at the camp he was involved in an unsuccessful attempt at tunnelling from the NCO Compound. The Escape Committee was known as “The Tally Ho Club”.

On the 19th May 1943 he was transferred, presumably die to being promoted to Warrant Officer (WO), to Stalag Luft 6, Heydekrug in Memelland arriving there on the 22nd May 1943. On the 16th July 1944 he was transferred to Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland.

In 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. The camp was commonly known as Stalag 357, Fallingbostal but officially the designation was Stalag 357, Oerbke

He and a WO. Bellew made three (3) attempts at escaping the last of which on the 6th April 1945 was successful.

In all three attempts his companion was 1376783 Sgt. William Stanley Bellew. He was the Rear Gunner from 7 Sqn Stirling I W7430 which was shot down by a night-fighter on the night of the 2nd/3rd June 1941 on a mission to Berlin. (7 KiA, 1 PoW)

WO. Copley was interviewed on the 26th April 1945.

Richard Alfred Copley was born on the 13th October 1919 in Harley West, Hampshire. He was a compositor (Printer) in Aldershot, Hampshire prior to enlisting in the RAF on the 8th May 1939. Richard passed away on the 8th April 2016 in Milton, Ontario, Canada.

(5) It is known that Sgt. Porteous was at Camp de Chambaran, Isère with Sgt. McLarnon and Sgt. Burrell and that he was transferred to PG 57 at Grupignano near Udine in Italy. The only other information that has been found was that at some point in time he was promoted to Warrant Officer (WO) and that he was transferred to Stalag 8A near Görlitz in Lower Silesia, east of the River Neisse (now Zgorzelec, Poland).

On the 14th February 1945 the Americans and British were marched out of the camp westward in advance of the Soviet offensive into Germany. The evacuation process was carried out gradually through to May 1945. The evacuation took place on foot with all means of transport driving in front of the people for military purposes.

The forced-march claimed further victims. Some of the PoWs were taken to Bavaria and others to Thuringia where they were freed by the Allies.

Robert Douglas Porteous was born on the 6th May 1918 in Galashiels, Scotland. Robert passed away on the 16th November 1985 in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

Burial details:

None – Crew Survived

Originally researched by Kate Tame and dedicated to this crew and their families. Updated by Kate Tame with further information and the smuggled letter. Updated with new information by Kelvin Youngs (Mar 2025). Reviewed, updated and reorganised with new information by Aircrew Remembered (Mar 2025). National Archives Kew, International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC'0

Other sources listed below:

References:

1. The Great Escape – The full dramatic story with contributions from survivors and their families - Anton Gill - ISBN: 878-0-75531-037-1.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
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