Operation: Mannheim, Germany

Date: 5th/6th September 1943 (Sunday/Monday)

Unit No: 106 Squadron, 5 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: DV182

Code: ZN:S

Base: RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire

Location: Böchingen, 5 km (3 mls) NW of Landau, Germany

Pilot: Plt Off. Angus Alan Robertson 145512 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

2nd Pilot: Grp Capt. Francis Samuel Hodder 19243 RAF Age 37. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. James Cunliffe 965489 RAFVR Age? KiA

Nav: WO2. Frank Stanford Green R85637 RCAF Age 21. KiA (1)

Bomb Aimer: Fg Off. Geoffrey Willatt 130435 RAFVR Age 32. PoW No. 2393 * (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Arthur Edward Taylor 1231875 RAFVR Age 32. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Frederick William ‘Freddie’ Tysall 952938 RAFVR Age 26. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Fg Off. Ronald Reginald Shadbolt DFC, 110567 RAFVR Age 29. KiA (3)

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

Above: Crew Photograph Left to right; Sgt. Frederick W. Freddie’ Tysall, Fg Off. Ronald R. Shadbolt DFC, Fg Off. G.W. ’Dickie’ Fairweather, Plt Off. Angus A. Robertson, Plt Off. Geoffrey Willatt, Sgt. Arthur E. Taylor, Sgt. R. Moseley. (Courtesy of Clive Smith)

Fg Off. Gibert Walter ’Dickie’ Fairweather DFC, 128618 RAFVR was KiA on the night of the 21st/22nd June 1944. He was the Navigator aboard 83 Sqn Lancaster III JB180 which was was shot down by a German night-fighter on an operation to Wesseling, Germany (7 KiA);

Sgt. Reginald ‘Mo’ Moseley, RAFVR. He flew nine (9) operations with 106 squadron before being posted to 214 Squadron. In total he flew fifty-eight (58) operations with 9, 106 and 214 Squadrons all as tail gunner.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 5th/6th September 1943 the Sqn could only muster eight (8) aircraft because of the lack of replacements for the losses from earlier operations. The aircraft took-off from RAF Syerston commencing at 19:40 hrs and joined a force six-hundred and five (605) aircraft detailed to carry out a twin attack on both Mannheim and Ludwigshafen in Germany.

After approaching Mannheim from the west the force carried out a very accurate attack raid on the eastern districts of the city, before flying to Ludwigshafen which is situated on the western bank of the Rhine. The attack on Ludwigshafen was also a complete success, with many important industrial and military building in the town’s centre and southern districts being totally destroyed.

The night proved to be disastrous for the Sqn with only four (4) aircraft bombing the target, two (2) returned early owing to technical defects and two aircraft , DV182 and W4922, failed to return. Additionally, the Station Commander of RAF Syerston, Grp Capt. F.S. Hodder was aboard DV182 as a passenger.

Above: Grp Capt. Francis S. Hodder (Courtesy of Clive Smith)

Above notice of Grp Capt. Hodder reported missing (Courtesy of the Evening Telegraph, dated 17th September 1943)

DV182 was claimed by Lt. Hans-Heinz Augenstein from 9./NJG1, his 11th Abschuss and 2nd of two this night, over Böchingen, 5 km NW Landau at 4.900 m. at 01:07 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (23 June - 22 September) 1943 Part 2 - Theo Boiten).

Hptm. Augenstein was KiA on the night of the 6th/7th December 1944 10 km NW of Münster-Handorf airfield when his Bf110 G-4 G9+HZ was shot down by 85 Sqn Mosquito NF.30, “VY:O” flown by Flt Lt. Edward Richard Hedgecoe DFC, 86574 and Fg Off. Norman Llewellyn Bamford DFC & Bar, 149134. Hptm. Augenstein was credited to thirty-seven (37) confirmed Abschüsse with three (3) awaiting confirmation. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten).

At the end of December 1944 as a now Sqn Ldr. Hedgecoe DFC and Fg Off. Bamford were posted to 151 Sqn. On his first sortie as a flight commander his Mosquito NF.30 NT252 crashed on approach to RAF Hunsdon on return from an air test. Both he and Fg Off. Barford were killed. Sqn Ldr. Hedgecoe was awarded a Bar to his DFC in March 1945.

In the attack the Pilot, Plt Off. Robertson, was killed instantly and Sgt. Cunliffe, the Flight Engineer, was mortally wounded. A fire broke out and the aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Böchingen, 5 km (3 mls) NW of Landau, claiming the lives of six (6) of the crew with only Fg Off. Willatt successfully baling out of the aircraft.

A report by No. 2 Missing Research & Enquiry Unit (MREU) determined from an eye-witness that at about 01:00 hrs on the 6th September 1943 that he saw an aircraft coming form the direction of Ludwigshafen at a high altitude on fire, the aircraft exploded in the air and fell some 200 yards south of the village of Böchingen.

Three (3) bodies were found near the wreckage and a fourth (4th) about 100 yards from the wreckage and two (2) others were found in the cockpit area. At the time of the report the seventh (7th) member of the crew had not been recovered.

One parachutist, Fg Off. Willatt, landed about 300 yards from the aircraft and was arrested at about 07:00 hrs. He recognised the dead members of his crew.

The second aircraft was Lancaster I W4922 ZN:? which was shot down by a German-night fighter and crashed near Ludwigshafen. Plt Off. Angus A. Roberston 145512 and his crew were KiA. They were laid to rest at the Rheinberg War Cemetery.

(1) Frank Stanford Green was employed as a junior clerk with the Department of Munitions and Supply in Toronto prior to enlisting in the RCAF on the 16th December 1940.

He initially commenced Pilot training but failed to archive the required standard and ceased training on the 3rd July 1941. He was then remustered to Observer training and awarded his Observer Brevet on the 7th November 1941 as a Sgt. He was promoted to Flt Sgt. on the 7th May 1942.

On the 26th January 1943 he was posted to 29 Operational Training Unit (OTU) where he was promoted to WO2. on the 7th May 1943. On the 28th May 1943 he was posted to 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) and then to 106 Sqn on the 10th July 1943.

Above: Reporting Plt Off. Green’s presumption of death (Courtesy of The Toronto Star, dated 2nd March 1944)

WO2. Green was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to J18353 Plt Off. effective 20th June 1943.

(2) When the German night fighter attacked Fg Off. Willatt was in the nose of the aircraft. All he heard was a metallic, ripping, shattering sound which was loud enough to make his ears ring. He notice a hole in the side of the fuselage and the instrument panel above his head.

He knelt on the step and looked into the pilot’s compartment and the three seats were empty and saw the Pilot, Co-Pilot and the Flt Eng in a crumpled heap seemingly dead. Unable to clamber out of the nose because of the bodies he clipped on his parachute, opened the nose hatch and baled out. When his parachute snapped open his harness cut into his groin and his flying boots were tugged off. He drifted down for about a 15 mins before landing unexpectedly and heavily near Edesham some 4 km (2½ mls) NE of the crash site.

Once he gathered himself his found he had suffered bruised heels, a bitten tongue, a pain in his chest, which he later found was from two broken ribs, splitting headache and a throbbing pain in his groin. Not have shoes was going to cause problems with his thoughts of walking to a neutral country.

Once he eyes adjusted to the dark he found that he had landed near a railway line and a signal box. He rolled up his parachute and went to sleep awaking at dawn when he buried everything that could identify him as RAF. He then crawled into some bushes dragging his parachute with him. He laid up in a narrow strip of 4-foot grape vines next to the railway line and using his silk map, button compass and by watching the destination boards on passing trains he determined his exact position. However, the trains were moving too fast to jump aboard and he finally fell to sleep.

The next night he followed the railway in the rough direction of the Swiss frontier and after nearly walking into a station he struck off across country. After about three (3) hours of stumbling high grape vines, ploughed fields, stubble and vegetable plots and falling into a stream he decided to take to the roads. Being tired, hungry, thirsty and disillusioned he decided to crawl into a haystack to sleep.

The next morning he was awoken by a scratching sound outside of the haystack. He eventually crawled out and was confronted by and elderly peasant brandishing a pitchfork and that ended his evasion. He was handed over to the German Police and then to two (2) Luftwaffe NCOs who escorted him onto a tram a short distance to Landau. (Ref 1. pp 44-50)

He was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there the next day. On the 8th September he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3, North Compound, arriving there on the 11th September.

Above: Fg Off. Geoffrey Willatt (Courtesy of Clive Smith)

Above: Fg Off. Willatt posted missing (Courtesy of the Evening Post, dated 7th September 1943).

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 that were sent 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 Fg Off. Willatt 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 to which the Germans agreed.

The column slowly headed east, finally crossing the River Elbe, north of Hamburg, on the 18th April. On 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.

He was flown to England in a Dakota arriving at RAF Hednesford, in Staffordshire on the 7th May 1945.

Geoffrey Willatt wrote a book titled “Bombs and Barbed Wire – My War in the RAF and Stalag Luft III”. He dedicated the book to the other seven members of the crew who were killed on the night of the 5th/6th September 1943; also to his dear wife, Audrey, who anxiously waited for him.

Geoffrey Willatt was born on the 4th November 1911 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. He was employed as a Rating Surveyor and Valuer prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 13th June 1940.

934860 LAC. Willatt was appointed to a commission and promoted to 130435 Plt Off on the 21st September 1942 (London Gazette 10th November 1942). He was promoted to Fg Off. and then to Flt Lt., however, no London Gazette entry for these promotions have been found. He relinquished his commission, retaining the rank of Flt Lt. and transferred to the Reserve on the 4th January 1956 (London Gazette 13th March 1956).

He married Audrey Elizabeth Mostyn Robinson in April 1943. His brother, Guy Willatt, was a famous cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Nottinghamshire. Geoffrey passed away on the 16th June 2009 in Exeter, Devon.

(3) 745605 Flt Sgt. Shadbolt was appointed to a commission and promoted to Plt Off. effective from the 23rd October 1941 and then to Fg Off. effective from the 1st October 1942.

Fg Off. Shadbolt was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) whilst with 106 Sqn (London Gazette, 17th August 1943).

Citation: “Flying Officer Shadbolt has taken part in many operational sorties. He participated in the attacks on the enemy’s invasion ports in September 1940, in mine-laying operations, and in the thousand-bomber raids of May and June 1942. In addition, he has completed many bombing raids on the enemy’s most heavily defended areas. This officer has always displayed confidence and courage of the highest order, and by his splendid fighting spirit and great experience has contributed to the excellent morale of the squadron’s gunners.”

BURIAL DETAILS:

The seven (7) crew who perished were initially buried in the western section of the Cemetery at Böchingen on the 7th September. The funeral was conducted by a Protestant clergyman with a detachment of the Luftwaffe rendering Military honours. They were finally laid to rest at the Rheinberg War Cemetery on the 16th April 1948.

Above Rheinberg War Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Plt Off. Angus Alan Robertson. Rheinberg War Cemetery, 18.A.1. Grave Inscription: ‘O VALIANT HEART, WHO TO YOUR GLORY CAME, THRO' CONFLICT AND THRO' BATTLE-FLAME’. Born on the 5th September 1922 in Stafford, Staffordshire. Son of William Stuart and Arthurine Margaret (née Williams) Robertson of Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, England.

Grp Capt. Francis Samuel Hodder. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Coll. Grave 18.A. 3-7. Grave Inscription: ‘"GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS"’. Born on the 11th February 1906 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Son of Samuel Francis (deceased in Sep 1937) and Maud (née Petrie) Hodder. Husband of Evelyn Margaret (née Bowden-Smith) Hodder of Brockenhurst, Hampshire, England.

Sgt. James Cunliffe. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Coll. Grave 18.A. 3-7. No further information found for James Cunliffe.

Above Grave marker for Plt Off. Frank S. Green (Courtesy of Des Philippet-FindAGrave)

Plt Off. Frank Stanford Green. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Coll. Grave 18.A. 3-7. Grave Inscription: ‘IN MEMORY HE LIVES FOR EVER’. Born on the 7th May 1922 in Toronto, Ontario. Son of Frank (predeceased) and Annie (née Johnston) Green of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Above Grave marker for Plt Off. Arthur E. Taylor (Courtesy of Des Philippet-FindAGrave)

Plt Off. Arthur Edward Taylor. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Coll. Grave 18.A. 3-7. Grave Inscription: ‘"FOR FREEDOM, PEACE AND LOVE HE DIED. MAY HE EVER IN THEE ABIDE"’. Son of Robert C.E. and Clara Taylor. Husband of May Taylor of Boise, Idaho, USA.

Sgt. Taylor was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to 156273 Plt Off. effective 9th August 1943.

Sgt. Frederick William Tysall. Rheinberg War Cemetery, Coll. Grave 18.A. 3-7. Grave Inscription: ‘THE FIGHT IS WON WHEN THE SOUL RESIGNED, AT LAST CAN SAY "THY WILL BE DONE"’. Born on the 17th June 1917 in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Son of Frederick and Ethel May (née Griffiths) Tysall of Birmingham. Husband of Betty (née Hodges) Tysall of Yardley, Birmingham, England.

Above Grave marker for Fg Off. Ronald R. Shadbolt DFC (Courtesy of Wouter van Dijken-FindAGrave)

Fg Off. Ronald Reginald Shadbolt DFC. Rheinberg War Cemetery, 18.A.2. Grave Inscription: ‘HE LIVED AND DIED FOR PEACE. LOVED AND REMEMBERED ALWAYS’. Born in the 4th Qtr of 1913 in Croydon, Surrey. Son of Charles William and Louisa (née Bailey) Shadbolt. Husband of Alfreda Betty (née Hone) Shadbolt of Hove, Sussex, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape from Aircrew Remembered as dedicated to this crew and their families (Jun 2025). Thanks to Clive Smith for the images of the crew (Jun 2025). Thanks to Clive Smith for the additional information and updates (Jul 2025).

Other sources listed below:

Reference:

1. “Bombs and Barbed Wire – My War in the RAF and Stalag Luft III” - Geoffrey Willatt

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 - 2025 Last Modified: 09 July 2025, 11:45