Operation: Gravenhorst

Date: 21/22nd February 1945 (Wednesday/Thursday

Unit: No. 227 Squadron. 201 Group

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: PB690

Code: 9J-V

Base: RAF Balderton, Nottinghamshire

Location: Ochtrup, Germany

Pilot: Fl/Lt. John Bernard Osborne MiD 1112072 RAFVR Evaded (1)

Fl/Eng: Sgt. Reginald Arthur Scutt 1252365 RAFVR Evaded (2)

Nav: Fl/Sgt. Thomas Berwick Kydd 1398182 RAFVR Evaded (3)

Air/Bmr: Fl/Sgt. Joseph Gerard Redman 1522498 PoW

W/Op/Air/Gnr: P/O. Brian Henry Lee Aus/4213 RAAF PoW

Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Sidney Albert Diplock 1986473 RAFVR PoW

Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Ronald William Sheen 1867061 RAFVR PoW

(note PoW details not available for the latter months of the war)

REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off from RAF Balderton at 17:21 hrs with 5 others from the squadron to bomb the Mittelland Kanal near Gravenhorst, Germany.

An expensive night for Bomber Command, three major targets were attacked (Worms, Gravenhorst and Duisburg) for the loss of 45 aircraft. 13 of those were lost attacking the Dortmund-Ems canal at Gravenhorst and all of those were destroyed by two Nachtjagers, Major Schnaufer and Hptm Rokker.

W/O.2. Arnold Dales and Sgt. Walter Lancaster were hospitalised and remains there until liberated in April.

Another crew from the squadron was also lost;

227 Squadron Lancaster II PB666 9J-J Flown by F/O. Peter Isaac Green 18382 - killed with two others, four crew taken PoW. More details here.

Above: Major Schnaufer and crew, (radioman Fritz Rumpelhardt- Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer- mechanic Wilhelm Gansler)

Burial details:

None - all the crew survived the war.

P/O. Brian Henry Lee - Born on the 15 Jun 1923 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Husband of Bette June Lee (née Bates)- died 05th December 2003, age 81) Brian passed away on the 15th November 1995, age 72. Both now rest in Palmdale Lawn Cemetery & Memorial Park, Australia.

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1) Evader report Fl/Lt. John Bernard Osborne

F/Lt. John Bernard Osborne was the pilot of Lancaster PB690. This bomber was shot down in the night of 21/22 February 1945 during a bombing mission to Gravenhorst. After the Lancaster was hit by a night fighter it crashed near Ochtrup in Germany. The whole crew survived and three members, including Osborne, managed to evade capture. Osborne landed probably somewhere near Rheine in a dense forest and after burying his parachute, harness and mae west, started walking in a north westerly direction. The next morning, when it was getting light, Osborne hid in a wooden shack. Osborne: 'During the day several patrols of police went by. At one time during a Typhoon attack on a train nearby, three policemen pressed themselves against the side of my hut and talked about 'Die Schweine vlieger'. After dusk he continued walking. He was almost immediately forced to 'pass some civilians'. It all went well. (Still) early in the evening he came across an aerodrome which Osborne tried to by pass. Osborne reported about this in his Evasion Report: 'On my first attempt I just stopped short of a sentry asking for identification papers. On my second attempt I found myself on the airfield. I finally took the only course open to me which was to walk boldly through the town adjoining to the fields. As I was going across country I was challenged by an armed civilian. Before he came too close to me I shouted 'Was ist das' and he stopped abruptly. After talking a lot about the airfield and the Luftwaffe of which I understood only a little I said to him in German 'I will be moving along now' whereupon I smartly marched away. Although I still wore the complete escape boots and also my battle dress together with my wings, which I covered with my glove during the conversation, I felt sure the civilian departed satisfied that I was a member of the Luftwaffe.' Osborne continued walking and at 5 AM he assumed that he had crossed the Dutch-German border. He passed a river and crossed through a town. Osborne again: '[At] about 0800 hrs I heard singing and shortly afterwards ran into a heavily wired area which I discovered was a military training camp. I by-passed this and shortly afterwards, since it was raining hard, I decided to seek assistance. I picked out a likely farm and after hiding in a ditch for about an hour I signaled to a young farmer working in a field nearby. He made me understand that I was to remain where I was while he went to get some food. He returned with civilian clothes which I immediately put on. We then walked to the farm where I was hidden in the loft.' Osborne was picked up close to the Luftwaffe-airfield of Twenthe by Hendrik Engbers, who took him to his farm at Vliegveldweg 70 at Enschede. Osborne stayed here for four days (23-26 February). On 26 February a member of the resistance visited him, possibly Jan Kroeze (Oldenzaalsestraat 393 at Hengelo), and with him Osborne cycled to a house in Hengelo, where he had lunch in a house and met several other resistance workers. This could have been the house of Dr. W. H. van Haaften. That night he was taken to the house of the Memelauer family in the Van Ostadestraat 16. Here Osborne joined an (at least one) other airman: F/Sgt. Michael Stoyko (E0619), the rear gunner of Lancaster PB174 that was shot down on July 20/21, 1944. Osborne and Stoyko remained here until the liberation of Hengelo on 3 April and took part in the liberation festivities. A few days later they had to say goodbye to their helpers when they were collected for interrogation by IS9 whereafter they returned via Eindhoven to England.

(2) Evader report Sgt. Reginald Scutt 1252345

Sgt. Reginald A. Scutt was the flight engineer of Lancaster PB690. This bomber was shot down in the night of 21/22 February 1945 during a bombing mission to Gravenhorst. The Lancaster crashed near Ochtrup in Germany. The whole crew survived and three members, including Scutt, managed to evade capture. After he landed somewhere near Rheine in Germany, Scutt soon re-united with another crew member: F/Sgt. T.B. Kydd (E1048), the navigator. Together they managed to cross the Dutch-German border and then - unknown is when - approached or were found Johan Rosink at Zuid-Lutte 215 at Losser. They were hiding that moment in a summer cabin, owned by Jan Lassche, close to the border. Rosink contacted Johan Schurink, a member of the Dutch military police with the question what to do next. Schurink - who was a member of the resistance - ordered Jan Sukkel (Bentheimerstraat at Oldenzaal) to pick up the two airmen. He probably hid Scutt and Kydd for four days under the wings of gamekeeper Cornelis Sukkel and Wilhelmina C.C. Gelderman-Van Wulfften Palthe at the areboretum of 'Poortbulten' (Zuid-Lutte 123), also in Losser. From here they were transferred to another gamekeeper: Gerrit Jan Willem Olthof at Noord-Lutte 37 in Losser. They would remain here for seventeen days. From here they moved to Marinus Johannes Borghuis, Bisschopstraat 10 at Oldenzaal, who gave them over to G.E. Anconé at Ootmarschumsestraat 47 at Oldenzaal. The two then found a hiding place - probably not very long - in the house of Willem Gerhard Johan Smudde at Molenstraat 30 in Oldenzaal. Scutt also stayed one day in the house of Henrikus Vloedgraven at Glindestraat 4. On 10 March Scutt, Kydd and another airman named 'Don' - this must have been F/Lt. Donald Edward (‘Buck') Jenvey (E1097)] - moved from Oldenzaal to Enschede. In Enschede they were handed over Mrs. Holstein-Scheuermeyer at Laresstraat 46. She had a German passport and Identity Card, but was a member of the resistance. Via the house of this lady 'Don' went to hide with Jan Visscher at Bremstraat 10. Scutt and Kydd possibly moved to the house of Cornelis Bührman at Begoniastraat 1 in Enschede where they hid for two weeks. According to another source Scutt and Kydd moved on 12 March 1945 to the house of dentist Andreas Marinus Noordenbos at Langestraat 31 at Enschede. Here Scutt and Kydd would hide until the liberation of the town on 1 April 1945.

(3) Evader report Fl/Sgt. Thomas Berwick Kydd

Fl/Sgt. Thomas Berwick Kydd was the navigator of Lancaster PB690. This bomber was shot down in the night of 21/22 February 1945 during a bombing mission to Gravenhorst. The Lancaster crashed near Ochtrup in Germany. The whole crew survived and three members, including Kydd, managed to evade capture. After he landed somewhere near Rheine in Germany, Kydd soon re-united with another crew member: Sgt. Reginald A. Scutt (E1051), the flight engineer. Together they managed to cross the Dutch-German border and then - unknown is when - approached or were found Johan Rosink at Zuid-Lutte 215 at Losser. They were hiding that moment in a summer cabin, owned by Jan Lassche, close to the border. Rosink contacted Johan Schurink, a member of the Dutch military police with the question what to do next. Schurink - who was a member of the resistance - ordered Jan Sukkel (Bentheimerstraat at Oldenzaal) to pick up the two airmen. He probably hid Scutt and Kydd for four days under the wings of gamekeeper Cornelis Sukkel and Wilhelmina C.C. Gelderman-Van Wulfften Palthe at the areboretum of 'Poortbulten' (Zuid-Lutte 123), also in Losser. From here they were transferred to another gamekeeper: Gerrit Jan Willem Olthof at Noord-Lutte 37 in Losser. They would remain here for seventeen days. From here they moved to Marinus Johannes Borghuis, Bisschopstraat 10 at Oldenzaal, who gave them over to G.E. Anconé at Ootmarschumsestraat 47 at Oldenzaal. The two then found a hiding place - probably not very long - in the house of Willem Gerhard Johan Smudde at Molenstraat 30 in Oldenzaal. Scutt also stayed one day in the house of Henrikus Vloedgraven at Glindestraat 4. On 10 March Scutt, Kydd and another airman named 'Don' - this must have been F/Lt. Donald Edward (‘Buck') Jenvey (E1097)] - moved from Oldenzaal to Enschede. In Enschede they were handed over Mrs. Holstein-Scheuermeyer at Laresstraat 46. She had a German passport and Identity Card, but was a member of the resistance. Via the house of this lady 'Don' went to hide with Jan Visscher at Bremstraat 10. Scutt and Kydd possibly moved to the house of Cornelis Bührman at Begoniastraat 1 in Enschede where they hid for two weeks. According to another source Scutt and Kydd moved on 12 March 1945 to the house of dentist Andreas Marinus Noordenbos at Langestraat 31 at Enschede. Here Scutt and Kydd would hide until the liberation of the town on 1 April 1945

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this crew with thanks to the National Archive Kew, AIR-27-1410-23/24/ Kracker Luftwaffe Archives. Australian WW2 Archives,. Ralph Snape for full crew names./

Other sources as quoted below:

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