Operation: Bombing Mission, France

Date: 29th May 1940 (Wednesday)

Unit No: 825 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), HMS Glorious

Type: Fairey Swordfish Mk I

Serial: L9740

Code: G5:?

Base: RAF Detling, Kent

Location: Dixmunde (Diksmuide) in Belgium

Pilot: Lt(A). Alexander Desmond ‘Alec’ Neely RN Age 22. PoW No. 420 * (1 & 3)

Telegraphist/Air Gnr: LA(A). Frederick George Rumsey FAA/FX79423 RNVR Age 19. PoW No. 12367 * (2 & 3)

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

Note: The normal crew complement comprised Pilot, Observer and Telegraphist/Air Gnr. On this mission an Observer was not required.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 29th May 1940 Swordfish L9740 was one (1) of eleven (11) aircraft that took-off from RAF Detling in Kent detailed to bomb a German Artillery Battery about 48 km (30 mls) SE of Dunkirk. It was planned that they would rendezvous with thirty (30) covering fighters at the coast. However, because of a misunderstanding, they did not arrive and as a result five (5) of the Swordfish were shot down by Bf109s.

The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) (German Air Force High Command) fighter claims for the Reich, West & Südfront for the 29th May 1940 lists five (5) Torp. Flgz (Swordfish) which were claimed by four (4) German pilots from 3./JG54 in the Dunkirk area at 20:00 hrs:

Uffz. Helmut Windisch, his 1st Abschuss;
Uffz. Adolf Strohhauer, his 1st Abschuss;
Ltn. Adolf-Waldemr Kitzinger, his 1st and 2nd Abschüsse;
Oblt. Hans Schmoller-Haldy, his 2nd Abschuss.

The other four (4) aircraft that were shot down were:

Swordfish Mk 1 [Unknown Serial] - Pilot: Lt(A). Robin Hamilton Gerrard Grey, PoW (died in captivity of Cancer on the 29th August 1941). Telegraphist/Air Gnr: LA(A). Leonard Percy Gardner FX.76361, KiA;

Swordfish Mk 1 [Unknown Serial] - Pilot: Lt-Cdr(A). James Brian Buckley DSC, MiD, PoW (Escaped but drowned trying to cross to Sweden by Canoe on the 21st March 1943). Observer: Lt(A). Robert Geoffrey Wood, PoW No. 2254, Stalag Luft 3;

Swordfish Mk 1 [Unknown Serial] - Pilot: Sub-Lt (A). John Trevor Nicholson MiD PoW No. 378, Stalag Luft 3. Telegraphist/Air Gnr: LA(A). Victor Sydney Moore FAA/FX77518, PoW No. 10021, Stalag Luft 6;

Swordfish Mk 1 [Unknown Seria]l - Pilot: Acting Sub-Lt(A). Charles Stuart Flockhart Hogg, MiA; Telegraphist/Air Gnr: LA(A). Herbert Kitchener Murrin FAA/FX.76383, MiA;

Two other Swordfish from the Squadron were also lost but their crews were able to return to England through Dunkirk.

L9740 was last seen flying just south of the target. It was later established that they had dropped their bombs but their petrol tank had been badly holed. LA(A). Rumsey damaged an Bf109 in the engagement with the German fighters.

Lt(A). Neely headed for the coast with the intention of coming down in the Channel, which was full of craft of all kinds taking the men off the beaches at Dunkirk. However, their petrol quickly ran out and aircraft was forced-landed in a field at Dixmunde (Diksmuide) in Belgium. Lt(A). Neely and LA(A). Rumsey were immediately taken prisoner.

The aircraft was fired upon whilst landing and Lt(A). Neely suffered a bullet wound through the fleshy part of the leg near the knee. They spent their 1st night as PoWs in the nearby church together with twenty (20) British Army soldiers.

Over the next five (5) days they were marched across Belgium and both suffered from swollen and blistered feet. No medical treatment was provided until they reached Bocholt, some 190 km (119 mls) due east as the crow flies from the crash site, and about 4½ km (2¾ mls) from the Dutch border. It was here that they went their separate ways.

(1) Lt(A). Neely was sent to Oflag 7C/H, Laufen near Salzburg arriving there on the 10th June 1940. On the 4th August he was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there two (2) days later. He remained here until the 22nd August 1940 and was then transferred to Stalag Luft 2, Barth-Vogelsang arriving there on the 24th August 1940.

Note: In 1940, this was the first permanent PoW camp for members of the RAF/FAA. The first group of officers and NCOs of the RAF/FAA arrived at the camp on the 7th July 1940.

The designation of the camp was changed to Stalag Luft 1 on the 1st October 1942.

Whilst at Barth-Vogelsang he was involved in several abortive escape attempts which failed through flooding of the tunnels and misfortune to be discovered.

On the 14th April 1942 all 800 inmates were transferred to the newly constructed Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Silesia arriving there two (2) days later. On the 7th September 1942 he was sent, for an unknown reason, to Oflag 21B in Schubin arriving there two (2) days later. On the 14th April 1943 he was returned to the North Compound at Stalag Luft 3, arriving there two (2) days later.

Lt(A). Neely was amongst the many code letter writers from whom messages were received by (Intelligence School 9 (I.S.9). He also worked in the Map Department and also involved in working 'contacts' to obtain materials required for the escape organisation. (Ref 1, p 63, 164 & 169)

He was number twenty-eight (28) on the list of two-hundred (200) PoWs selected to escape. After successfully leaving the tunnel he made his way by himself to Sagan railway station and purchases a ticket to Berlin and caught the train at 03:15hrs. He saw Sqn Ldr. Cattanach and Plt Off. Christiansen on the train and leaving when the train arrived in Berlin at 07:30 hrs.

Sqn Ldr. Cattanach and Plt Off. Christiansen were two (2) of the fifty (50) officers murdered by the Gestapo.

He wandered around Berlin until 16:20 hrs when he caught a train to Stettin which arrived at 19:30 hrs that evening and after several attempts eventually found a hotel where he stayed the night. The following morning at 10:00 hrs he went to an address provided by the escape committee. After finding the correct address nothing could be done to assist him and after waiting for a contact he decided to leave at 17:30 hrs. In the street he chanced upon a Frenchman who took him to a friend who worked in the kitchen of a hospital in Stettin where he stayed that night and the following day and night. On the two nights he and the Frenchman tried to contact a Swedish crewman but there were no Swedish ships in port at the time. (Ref 1, pp 205-207)

On the 28th March the Germans searched the hospital following the escapes from Stalag Luft 3 but he slipped out the back of the kitchens. With no success in contacting any Swedish sailors he decided to try to reach France and caught a train for Berlin at 20:00 hrs. He was fortunate that there was no checks of documentation as he did not have a travel permit only a forged identity card. On the 29th March at 11:00 hrs be caught an Express Train bound for Munich. Unfortunately at Nuremberg an official became suspicious because his identity card looked too new for its supposed use and was arrested as a French worker, and taken to the civilian prison in Munich. On the 30th March whilst being interrogated he admitted that he was an escaped PoW from Stalag Luft 3 and on the evening of the 5th April he was returned to Stalag Luft 3. (Ref 1, pp 205-207)

See Serial (3) below.

Alexander Desmond Neely was born on the 4th November 1917 in Chakradharpur, Bengal, India. Enlisted in the Royal Navy (RN) on the 1st January 1935 as an Executive Cadet (Public School Entrant) and in late 1939 he specialised in aviation. He retired from the RN on the 31st December 1957 as a Lt-Cdr. Alexander passed away on the 1st October 2001 in Devon.

(2) LA(A). Rumsey was sent to Dulag Luft, Oberursel and after interrogation was transferred to Stalag 20A located in Toruń in Poland arriving there on the 18th June 1940.

Between the 8th November 1940 and 30th December 1940 he was detailed to an Arbeitskommando (Labour Unit) on a building project in Graudenz. During August and October 1940 he attempted to escape three (3) times, on his own. He successfully cleared the camp twice but each time he was captured by German civilians.

On the 8th January 1941 he was transferred to Stalag Luft 2, Barth-Vogelsang arriving there on the 5th January 1941.

Note: In 1940, this was the first permanent PoW camp for members of the RAF/FAA. The first group of officers and NCOs of the RAF/FAA arrived at the camp on the 7th July 1940.

The designation of the camp was changed to Stalag Luft 1 on the 1st October 1942.

On the 14th April 1942 all 800 inmates were transferred to the newly constructed Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Silesia arriving there two (2) days later.

See Serial (3) below.

Frederick George Rumsey was born on the 25th April 1921 in London. He enlisted in the Royal Navy (RN) on the 11th March 1937. No further information for Frederick George Rumsey has been found to date.

(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. Lt(A). Neely and LA(A). Rumsey were amongst the North, East and remaining West compound PoWs were on the 2nd February 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 including Lt(A). Neely and LA(A). Rumsey, 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 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. Lt(A). Neely was interviewed on the 3rd May 1945 and LA(A). Rumsey the next day.

Burial details:

None – crew survived

Researched by Ralph Snape from Aircrew Remembered as dedicated to this crew and their families (Apr 2025).

Other sources listed below:

References:

1. Stalag Luft III - An official history of the “Great Escape” PoW Camp - Published by Frontline Books - ISBN: 978-1-47388-305-5.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© Aircrew Remembered 2012 - 2026 Last Modified: 16 April 2025, 15:31