Operation: Armed Recce, Caen-Domfront Area

Date: 10th June 1944 (Saturday)

Unit No: 65 (East India) Sqn, 122 Airfield, 2nd Tactical Air Force

Type: Mustang III

Serial: FB102

Code: YT:?

Base: RAF Funtington, West Sussex

Location: Near Caen, France

Pilot: Flt Lt. Robert Arthur Eric ‘Bob’ Milton 42866 RAFO Age 24. Evaded

Above: Flt Lt. Robert Arthur Eric ‘Bob’ Milton

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the second sortie of the day six (6) Mustangs led by Flt Lt. Milton, took-off from RAF Funtington at 08:00 hrs on a 2nd armed reconnaissance along the road from Caen to Domfront.

They bombed and strafed a column of German vehicles on the road after which they climbed up to about 5000 ft where they were attacked by twelve (12) Bf109s. The flight scattered and Flt Lt. Milton was last seen rolling over on his back chasing an Bf109.

A second pilot from this sortie, and the third of the morning, failed to return:

Mustang III FB160 YT:?, flown by Flt Lt. Thomas Robert Bowden Anderson 409081 RAAF was KiA when his aircraft was shot down whilst strafing MT vehicles. He is buried at the Ranville War Cemetery, V.F.15;

Mustang III FX884 YT:?, flown by Fg Off. Patrick Thomas Driscoll 133144 RAFVR was posted MiA and was presumed to be have been shot down by an Me109 south of Caen. He is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 205.

Flt Lt. Milton reported that he chased one Bf109 down and saw it crash in flames but was immediately attacked by another from astern. Bullets smashed his radio and canopy, and a round grazed his head. His Mustang’s engine was also hit so he ducked in a cloud and started in a northerly direction but losing altitude all the time.

He came out of cloud at about 2500 feet and arrived over the outskirts of Caen at about 1000 feet and not far from Allied lines but was hit by three sudden bursts of Flak which knocked off the Mustang’s tail and set the entire aircraft ablaze. He baled out at about 800 feet with his parachute opening at about 75 feet and being shot at by the Germans all the while.

He landed in the Orne river on the southern outskirts of Caen. He disposed of his parachute, harness and Mae West in the river. He then secreted his escape aids and tins of food about his person, took out his revolver and waited to see how many Germans would arrive. About thirty (30) or so Germans came running towards him so he threw his revolver, knife and ammunition belt in the river before he was taken prisoner.

They crowded around him shouting and physically abusing him. They looted his possessions including ID discs but missed his watch after which he was taken to an SS Headquarters. An SS Hauptsturmführer (Capt) spoke with him in perfect English but did not interrogate him. Flt Lt. Milton was left alone in the SS Hauptsturmführer office and about 10 minutes later he returned and handed him over into the custody of the Feldgendarmerie (Military Police).

He was paraded along a street past German War Correspondents and others who were trying to take photographs of him. He tried to hide his face because he was did not want any publicity because of his previous evasion. He was kept outside in the wet and cold and he became groggy from his head wound. He was assured he was going to be taken to a dressing station but instead put in a solitary cell. He was stripped and searched but again missed his watch.

About 1½ hours later he was visited by a member of the Légion des volontairs français contre le bolchévisme (LVF)and a couple of Luftwaffe NCOs.

The LVF was a unit in the German Army unit comprising collaborationist volunteers from France officially designated the Infanterieregiment 638 (638th Infantry Regiment).

The Frenchman was particularly obnoxious and questioned him about his aircraft. When he refused to answer the questions he NCOs began to strike him about the head for the next 30 minutes until he passed out. When he came to he was taken to a nearby schoolhouse which was converted into a prison which was run by the SS and the Feldgendarmerie.

He was placed in a room with a Lt. Douglas Glasgow of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles who had been there for two (2) days. In room next door were nineteen (19) of his men and other prisoners. The Germans did not provide them with any food but a Frenchman sneaked around the rear window of the room and passed in some bread, chocolate and cigarettes through the bars. Shortly later an American Thunderbolt pilot, a 2nd Lt. Bill Taylor arrived. He had injured his back in landing after baling out of his aircraft.

Believed to be 2nd Lt. Frederick W. 'Bill' Taylor O-691596 whose P-47D 42-76201 from the 390th Fighter Sqn, 366th Fighter Group was shot down in an engagement with German fighters 5 miles SW of Caen, France on the 10th June. (PoW at Stalag 12D, Petrisberg, Germany).

After they were questioned by some German War Correspondents the Frenchman of the LVF returned Flt Lt. Milton requested medical attention for his two fellow officers and the men next door who were in a bad way. One soldier was losing his sight and another had three untreated bullet wounds but he was told because he would not answer any questions no medical attention would be provided. However, a reasonable German NCO of the guard brought in a French doctor and a Nun who dressed their wounds and gave them anti-tetanus injections.

The next morning the Frenchman who had brought them food the previous day arranged with the croix-rouge françase(French Red Cross) to provide lunch for all the prisoners. However, before the meal arrived the twenty-five (25) prisoners were assembled and marched off down the road to the south.

After a day’s march they stopped at a Feldgendarmerie post in an old farmhouse near Meslay some 30 km (18½ mls) to the south of Caen. Here they were searched again and this time they took Flt Lt. Milton’s watch. He liked this to unofficial private looting on a grand scale. That night they were provided with a chunk of bread each and a little water.

The next morning they were loaded onto small trucks and driven to Flers, some 32 km (20 mls) further south, where they were unloaded and joined a column of some three-hundred and fifty (350) Canadian prisoners, made up almost entirely of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. They were marched to Mortain, 30 km (18½ mls) to the SW of Flers, where they were provided with some thin watery soup before bedding down for the night in the local cinema.

During the march two (2) Canadian officers escaped and the Germans threatened to shoot ten (10) of the remaining twelve (12) officers if anyone else escaped. One of the Canadian men who could speak German overheard a discussion as to whether they should shoot the prisoners there and then. At Mortain the German allowed them to leave the most seriously wounds prisoners in a hospital which was then filled with American soldiers.

From Mortain they were marched towards Fougères, some 43 km (26¾ mls) to SW. Enroute Flt Lt. Milton passed out as a result of his head injury. He was sent ahead in a truck to a point just north of Fougères where he managed to leave a note with a sympathetic French women to the effect that he was a PoW and wounded. He asked that the note should be passed to the first Allied officer to reach Fougères. That night there stayed in a schoolhouse just outside of the town and the German allowed local French people to feed all some three hundred (300) prisoners.

The next morning a French priest provided bread and hot coffee before the column started off again. Flt Lt. Milton was made to ride on the bumper of a truck and act as aircraft spotter all the way to Rennes, some 50 km (31 mls) to the SW of Fougères. They arrived at Rennes on the 15th June and were housed in an old French barracks at the Camp de la Marne on the SW outskirts of the town.

A very superficial search of the prisoners were conducted after which they were provided with a hot shower and then put into the main part of the camp. Here Flt Lt. Milton met a Lt. John K. England and one-hundred (100) of his airborne troops.

Lt. John Kay England 255222 was the Intelligence Officer of the 8th Parachute Battalion who was captured on the 6th June 1944 (D-day).

This was supposed to be a transit camp but due to the lack of transport he and the others remained there for the next month. The Germans refused entry by representatives of the International Red Cross or anyone else to see them.

Several days later a Cmdr. Keene-Miller and a Lt Col. Richardson were brought in to the camp. The two officers together with Flt Lt. Milton and Lt. English, and six (6) of his men planned to start a tunnel under the floor of one of the disused huts. Although it was never discovered they were moved before it could be completed.

Cmdr. Keene-Miller was Acting Cmdr.(A) Jack Morris Keene-Miller RNAS whose 808 Sqn Seafire III NF486 was shot down by a Bf109 SW of Caen on the 7th June 1944. This was Fg Off. Jack Morris Israel 27086 who relinquished his commission in the RAF on appointment to a commission in the RNAS on the 16th July 1940. He change his name by deed-poll during 1940 whilst living in Jersey, Channel Islands;

Lt Col. Richardson was believed to be Lt Col. Phillip Herbert Richardson 40514 who was the CO of 7th Battalion, Green Howards Regiment, 69th Infantry Brigade, 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division. The War Diary for 7th Battalion, Green Howards recorded that Lt Col. P.H. Richardson 40514 was taken prisoner on the 18th June 1944.

On the 6th July they were marched down to the local goods yard and loaded into cattle wagon, forty (40) men or twenty-five (25) officers to a wagon. They were each provided with a loaf of bread which was to last three (3) days. At about midnight the train set off toward Redon, some 57 km (35¼ mls) to the SW of Rennes.

As soon as the journey started the four of them started to cut their way their way through the front of the wagon with a penknife and a hacksaw from an escape kit. They had to stop every time the train stopped which was frequently. At about 07:00 hrs on the 7th July the train pulled into Redon and was left in the marshalling yards for the entire day under the hot sun. At about 23:00 hrs that day the train set of again for Nantes via Savenay, some 63 km (39 mls) to the SE of Redon.

As the engine had been switch to the other end of train it was unsafe to jump from the hole that they had made in the end of the wagon. However they found a rotten board near the right hand door which they managed to loosen and remove. They were then able to reach out and removed the wire holding the latch closed. The waited for about an hour waiting for a suitable opportunity to jump out, during which time the train stopped but they managed to put the latch and wire back in place which passed the guard’s inspection.

When the train slowed to about 15 mph they opened the door wide and Flt Lt. Milton jumped first followed by the other three (3). As soon as they landed they flattened themselves face down and as close to the tracks as possible to avoid being seen. They were not detected and the train continued on its way taking with it the others in the wagon who were going to jump out at about three (3) minute intervals.

Three of the others who escaped the train and succeed in evading were:

Capt. Arlie J. Blood O-736086 USAAF who baled out of this P-47D 42-76553 of the 510th Fighter Sqn, 405 Fighter Group after it was hit by Flak on the 24th May 1944;

2nd Lt. Harold T. Hersey O-815700 USAAF who baled out of his P-47D 42-76361 of the 511th Fighter Sqn, 405 Fighter Group after it was his by Flak whilst on an armed recce on the 18th June 1944;

2nd Lt. Walter R. Davis O-810327 USAAF who crashed landed his P-47DC 41-6358 of the 510th Fighter Sqn, 405th Fighter Group on the NW side of Jersey in the Channel Islands on a recce mission on the 23rd June 1944.

Once clear of the train they struck out on to the NW of Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc with a view to leaving the coastal zone and making their way to the Allied lines. They walked across country at night and laying up in woods near farms by day until they reached the Forêt De Teillay some 60 km (37 mls) due north of Nantes, where they decided to wait for the arrival of the American advance.

They constructed themselves a shelter and were helped and cared for by two French ‘Charcoal Burners’ for the next two (2) weeks. On the 6th August they contacted an advanced reconnaissance patrol of the American 8th Infantry Division. From there were transported through France to Avranches and from they back to England.

Robert Arthur Eric Milton was granted a short service commission as acting Plt Off. on the active list on the 23rd October 1939. (London Gazette 7th November 1939). On the 20th April 1940 he was graded as Plt Off. on probation (London Gazette 25th June 1940). He was confirmed in his appointment on the 14th August 1940 (London Gazette 22nd October 1940).

Promoted to substantive Fg Off. on the 20th April 1941 (London Gazette 20th June 1941). On the 20th April 1942 he was promoted to war substantive Flt Lt. (London Gazette 13th November 1942).

He was Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) which was promulgated in the London Gazette on the 2nd June 1943. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in recognition of his distinguished service which was promulgated on the London Gazette on the 1st December 1944.

Robert Arthur Eric Milton was born on the 6th December 1919 in Castle Ward, Northumberland. He married Rosemary Spencer Green in the 4th Qtr of 1945 at Westminster, Middlesex.

He retired from the RAF as a Sqn Ldr. and emigrated to Australia.

Robert passed away on the 25th May 1999 in Bullcreek, Melville, Western Australia, Australia. Rosemary passed away on the 6th September 2013 and laid to rest with Robert in the Fremantle Cemetery in Melvill City, Western Australia.

Burial details:

None.

Researched by Ralph Snape from Aircrew Remembered as dedicated to this pilot and his family (Jun 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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