Operation: Stuttgart, Germany

Date: 28th/29th July 1944 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit No: 622 Squadron, 3 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: L7576

Code: GI:K

Base: RAF Mildenhall, England

Location: In the vicinity of Cirey-sur-Vezouze, France

Pilot: Fg Off. Harold Sherman Peabody J22396 RCAF Age 23. MiA (1)

Flt Eng: Fg Off. George Jarvis Wishart DFC, 52167 RAF Age 29. PoW * (2)

Nav: Fg Off. James Harrington Doe J29847 RCAF Age 21. MiA (1)

Bomb Aimer: Fg Off. Ronald Louis ‘Lou’ Fiddick J29707 RCAF Age 27. Evaded (3)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Arthur Payton 1547679 RAFVR Age 29. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upper): Flt Sgt. Richard Godfrey ‘Dick’ Proulx R220221 RCAF Age 21. KiA (4)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Percy William Buckley 1813417 RAFVR Age 18. KiA

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

REASON FOR LOSS:

L7576 was one (1) of fourteen (14) aircraft from 622 squadron detailed to join a bomber force on the 1st of three heavy raids on Stuttgart in Germany. L7576 took off from RAF Mildenhall at 22:00 hrs and failed to return.

L7576 was claimed by Ofhr. Walter Swoboda, his 1st Abschuss, from 2./NJG6, ENE of the Saint-Dié-des-Vosges area at 5.000 m. at 01:30 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten).

Lt. Swoboda was KiA on the night of the 17th/18th December 1944 near Felsberg, shot down by the 204th American Field Artillery Battalion. He was credited with just the one (1) Abschuss. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten)

The aircraft was reported to have crashed at approximately 01:30 hrs into woods possibly known as Pot-de-Vin, between Cirey-sur-Vezouze and Petitmont. The three airmen that were recovered from the aircraft were laid to rest in the local communal cemetery at Petitmont.

Both villages are located 8 km (5 ml) east and ESE respectively from Blamont.

(1) It was claimed in a report by the Missing Research and Enquiry Unit (MREU) that the aircraft had caught fire resulting in the bomb load exploding. As no remains of Fg Off. Peabody and Fg Off. Doe were found it was surmised that they ceased to exist in the explosion whilst throwing the bodies of Sgts Payton, Proulx and Buckley clear of the aircraft.

However, in a study commissioned by Jon and Robert Peck relatives of Fg Off. Peabody named “The Peabody Project”, it was determined with some degree of certainty that the aircraft had in fact force-landed successfully and its bomb load had not exploded. The bodies of Sgts. Proulx and Buckley were recovered from a largely intact aircraft and that of Sgt. Payton from the environs of the crash site. All three were interred in the Petitmont Communal Cemetery. The forward section of the fuselage was inspected by local residents and was found to be empty. No trace of Fg Off. Peabody and Fg Off. Doe were found.

The aircraft was destroyed in place purportedly because of the presence of incendiary bomblets around the crash site. The destruction of the aircraft on the ground undoubtably led to the incorrect conclusion by the MREU investigators.

Note: The presence of incendiary bomblets in the bomb load for L7576 is not corroborated by the Loss Card for the aircraft nor by the bomb loads detailed by the Operational Record Book (ORB) entry for this mission.

The conclusion the study reached was that although it was impossible to determine for certain the events that transpired it provided a theory based upon the solid physical and archival evidence found during the investigation.

The most plausible course of events were that Fg Off. Peabody and Fg Off. Doe did not perish in the crash and that they had either baled out or survived the crash landing and escaped from the cockpit area. They then made their way to Roche Roland where evidence that they consumed some of their RAF rations was found by the Maquis who searched the area.

They then travelled north to Cirey-sur-Vezouze where they were captured. Whilst being detailed they were likely interrogated which may have explained why Fg Off. Wishart’s interrogator had such detailed knowledge of the mission and crew. Fg Off. Peabody and Fg Off. Doe were then taken to the local Gestapo headquarters in the Chateau Schirmeck and later driven to the Natzweiler/Stuthof concentration camp, murdered, cremated and their ashes scattered on the field behind the crematorium where the ashes of other inmates were deposited. This was the only chain of events which could be concluded from the evidence uncovered.

If this was indeed the case then it is likely that the same individuals implicated, tried and sentenced for the murder of Sgt. Habgood were responsible for the murder of Fg Off. Peabody and Fg Off. Doe.

Sgt. Frederic Harold Habgood 1602535 RAFVR was the Bomb Aimer from 550 Sqn Lancaster III NE164 shot down by a German night-fighter on the night of the 28th/29th July 1944 on an operation to Stuttgart (2 KiA, 1 Murdered, 1 Evd, 3 PoWs).

There was some evidence that the 2 Special Air Service (SAS) War Crimes Investigation Team (WCIT) had opened an investigation into the deaths of Fg Off. Peabody and Fg Off. Doe. However, in the Spring of 1946 the WCIT closed their investigations and was disbanded. The investigation file on Fg Off. Peabody although in an advanced state of preparation was never progressed by the Attorney General’s office ostensibly because two (2) of those cited had already been charged and sentenced for the murder of Sgt. Habgood.

(2) Fg Off. Wishart was captured at Cure de Saint-Dié-des-Vosge the same day. This is some 30 km (19 mls) south of the crash site which suggests that he baled out.

He was wounded and was taken to a Lazarett (Hospital) in Nancy arriving there on the 30th July 1944. He remained here until the 15th August 1944 and was then transferred to the Reserve Lazarett at Hohemark which served Dulag Luft, Oberursel, arriving there on the 19th August. After a four (4) day stay he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia arriving there on the 27th August 1944.

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 North, East and remaining West compound PoWs who were 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’.

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 Flt Lt. Wishart 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. Wishart was interviewed on the 3rd May 1945.

The DFC was awarded to temporary Flt Lt. Wishart, on the 28th July 1944, whilst with 622 Sqn and promulgated in the London Gazette on the 25th January 1946. He was promoted to Flt Lt. on the 28th April 1945 whilst a PoW.

George Jarvis Wishart was born on the 28th August 1914 in West Ham, London. He was a storekeeper in Montrose, in Scotland prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 17th September 1935. George passed away on the 7th November 1980 in Radcliffe on Trent, Nottingham, England.

(3) Fg Off. Fiddick baled out and landed in a forest some 12¾ km (8 mls) SE of Cirey-sur-Vezouze. He buried his parachute and Mae West and set off towards Cirey-sur-Vezouze where he laid up outside the village for two (2) days. He finally knocked on the door of a house and the occupants took him in and provided him with a meal. On the afternoon of the 4th August a member of the Maquis arrived and took him to the Maquis camp in the forest.

Two (2) weeks later he was moved to another camp about 12¾ km (8 mls) away where he met fifteen (15) troops of 2 SAS, led by Capt. Henry C. Druce.

Capt. Druce, whose nom de guerre was ‘Colonel maximum’, was in command of a small advance party, whose primary task was to find a suitable drop zone for a large contingent to be brought in.

About three (3) days later German troops began searching the forest after an informant had alerted them of the SAS presence. Capt. Druce and his men, together with Fg Off. Fiddick split from the Maquis and were on the run for the next seven (7) days before establising a temporary camp further into the forest.

For the next two (2) weeks they were on the run, forced to dodge around Visges, hiding in hay barns or camping in the open despite the increasing cold as autumn neared. On the 26th August ten (10) SAS reinforcements were parachuted in to join them. They brought with them a message that the commander of 2 SAS, Col. Brian Franks would be landing four (4) days later with another twenty-five (25) men.

At 03.00 hrs on the 31st August Col. Franks, his troopers and supplies including jeeps were parachuted in. For the next month Fg Off. Fiddick joined the SAS in acts of sabotage with the German continuing to search for them.

On the 29th September after receiving an intelligence windfall describing the detailed order of battle for the 21st Panzer Division, Col. Franks detailed Capt. Druce and Fg Off. Fiddick to head west to linkup with American forces and pass on the intelligence information. After walking for some forty (40) hours the crossed the Allied Lines and joined up with the French Army at Domptail. They were then sent to the joint American and French Headquarters where they passed on the intelligence information.

Above courtesy of the Nanaimo Daily News, dated 5th October 1944

The two were then flown to RAF Northolt from Saint-Dié-des-Vosges on the 2nd October 1944.

Ronald Louis Fiddick was born on the 20th January 1917 in Nanaimo, British Columbia. He enlisted in the RCAF on the 15th June 1942. Ronald passed away on the 14th November 2016 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

(4) Flt Sgt. Proulx reported missing.

Above courtesy of The Sault Star, dated 1st August 1944

Three (3) of Flt Sgt. Proulx’s four (4) brothers also served:

Above courtesy of The Sault Star, dated 13th March 1943

Plt Off. Omer Thomas Proulx J21008 RCAF was being given advanced dual training by Flt Lt Miles, DFC aboard 36 Operational Training Unit (OTU) Hudson BW768 on the 6th March 1943. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft until the crash was discovered, totally demolished and scattered over a distance of approximately 500 yards, 6 miles north of Greenwood, some five (5) hours later by air search. Both occupants were killed instantly when the aircraft crashed. The cause of the accident was investigated but remained obscure;

Cpl. Douglas Joseph Proulx B31309, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) was serving overseas with the 3260 Corps Troop Petrol Company, Canadian Army;

Signalman Gerald Godfrey Proulx B83652, Royal Canadian Army Corps of Signals (RCCS) was serving overseas with the HQ 1st Canadian Artillery Group, Signals Section.

Burial details:

Above: The Runnymede Memorial (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Fg Off. Harold Sherman Peabody. Runnymede Memorial Panel 247. Born on the 28th November 1920 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Son of Harold Albert and Helen Elizabeth (née Wray) Peabody from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.

Fg Off. James Harrington Doe. Runnymede Memorial Panel 245. Born on the 20th December 1922 in Calgary, Alberta. Son of Joseph Eldon and Mary Josephine (née Robertson) Doe from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Sgt. Arthur Payton. Petitmont Communal Cemetery Grave 1. Grave Inscription: “HIS STEP UNTRACED: WE ONLY KNOW AND SEEN HIS FATHER'S FACE AND SEEN HIS FATHER'S FACE”. Born on the 27th January 1915 in Tipton, Staffordshire. Son of George and Harriet (née Winsper) Payton. Husband to Elizabeth (née Popplewell) Payton from Connahs Quay, Flintshire, North Wales.

Flt Sgt. Richard Godfrey Proulx. Petitmont Communal Cemetery Grave 3. Grave Inscription: “MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE”. Born on the 6th February 1923 in Searchmont, Ontario Son of Godfrey and Ellen May (née Dillon) Proulx from Quebec, Ontario, Canada.

Sgt. Percy William Buckley. Petitmont Communal Cemetery Grave 2. Grave Inscription: “PRAY FOR MY SOUL, FOR MORE THINGS ARE WROUGHT BY PRAYER THAN THIS WORLD DREAMS OF”. Born in December 1925 in Limehouse, London. Son of Percy and Ruth (née Bravery) Buckley. Husband to Jennie (née Coplen) Buckley, from Stepney, Middlesex, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew and to the memory of Traugott Vitz for his work on the ‘VitzArchive’ (Jul 2025).

Other sources listed below:

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