Operation: Merseberg, Germany

Date: 16th/17th August 1940 (Friday/Saturday)

Unit No: 144 Sqn, 5 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Hampden I

Serial: P4291

Code: PL:E

Base: RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire

Location: Altenhagen, Germany

Pilot: Plt Off. Henry Aidan Thomas Skehill 41534 RAF Age 22. PoW No. 1253 * (1)

Obs: Sgt. William Arthur Hughes 563882 RAF Age 26. KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Robert Leslie Wake 580685 RAF Age 26. KiA

Air Gnr: Sgt. Douglas John Perritt 543189 RAF Age 20. PoW No. 284 * (2)

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

** Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland

REASON FOR LOSS

On the night of the 16th/17th August 1940 six (6) aircraft from the Sqn were detailed to join a force of eighty-three (83) bombers to bomb multiple targets in Germany, France and Holland. The six (6) aircraft joined the element that bombed Merseburg in Germany. Of the three (3) aircraft lost two (2) were from 144 Sqn.

P4291 was hit by 2./Res. Flak Abt. 233 (Battery Kuhlerkamp) and crashed at Altenhagen at 01:45 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (1939 - 12 July 1941) The Early Years Part 1 - Theo Boiten)

Altenhagen, about 8 km (5 miles) NE of Bielfeld and some 240 km (150½ miles) ESE of Merseberg. Given the time of take-off from RAF Hemswell (approx. 20:30 hrs), the cruising speed of the Hampden, the distance to the location where the aircraft crashed from RAF Hemswell and from the target, it is likely that they were home-bound when they were shot down.

A second aircraft from the Sqn, Hampden I P4365, flown by Sqn Ldr Peter Henry Rebbeck 37421 RAF, returned to base, crashed and burst into flames killing him and his crew.

(1) Fg Off. Skehill baled out the aircraft and landed uninjured. He was apprehended on the 18th August near Hagen.

Newspaper clipping courtesy of The Argus, dated 27th August 1940

He was transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel arriving there on the 20th August. After the satutory interrogation he was transferred to Oflag IXA/H at Schloss Spangenberg (Spangenberg Castle), located in the small town of Spangenberg in NE Hesse, Prussia, arriving there on the 30th August.

On the 6th March 1941 the Oflag was closed and the PoWs were temporarily transferred to Stalag 20A at Thorn (Toruń) Poland arriving there on the 8th March 1941. On the 6th June 1941 he was amongst the PoWs who were returned to Oflag IXA/H arriving there on the 8th June.

On the 12th November 1941 he was transferred to Oflag VIB located SW of the village of Dössel (now part of Warburg) in NW Germany, where he remained until the 6th September 1942.

He was then transferred to Oflag XXIB at Szubin located a few miles SW of Bydgoszcz in Poland arriving there on the 8th September 1942. On the 10th April 1943 the camp was cleared of all PoWs who were sent to Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan-Silesia in Germany, now Żagań in Poland, arriving there on the 12th April 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 the North, East and remaining West compound he was amongst the PoWs who were sent to Marlag und Milag Nord at Westertimke arriving there on the 4th February 1945 .

Marlag is an acronym for Marinelager (Navy PoW camp), Milag is short for Marine-Interniertenlager (Marine 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 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.

It is not known whether Flt Lt. Skehill remained at the camp, or was in the forced march or whether he escaped from the march. All that is known was that he was interviewed on the 3rd May 1945.

Henry Aidan Thomas Skehill was born on the 20th September 1917 in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia. He travelled to England and then applied for a Short-Service position with the RAF which was granted on the 6th October 1938.

He was graded as an acting Plt Off. on probation effective 3rd September 1939 and confirmed in his appointment on the 6th October 1939 (London Gazette 31st October 1939);

He was promoted to Fg Off. on the 3rd September 1940 (London Gazette 21st February 1941);

He was promoted to Flt Lt. on the 3rd September 1941 (London Gazette 11th November 1941);

He was transferred to the Reserve of RAF Officers (RAFO) as a Flt Lt. effective 6th October 1942 (London Gazette 2nd November 1945). He was promoted to Sqn Ldr. on the 1st January 1946 (London Gazette 5th March 1946);

He was then appointed to a commission in the RAF as a Flt Lt. with extended service of 4 years on the active list on the 12th December 1946 (London Gazette 14th March 1947). He was promoted to Substantive Sqn Ldr. on the 1st August 1947 (London Gazette 1st August 1947).

He married Jessie Marion McWilliam in Greenwich, London in October 1952.

Sqn Ldr. Skehill retired from the RAF on the 7th December 1957 (London Gazette 13th December 1957).

He returned to Australia with his wife and resided in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia in 1977.

Henry died on the 4th December 1981 in the ACT and his wife, Jessie, the following year on the 25th December 1982 in Victoria, Australia.

(2) Sgt. Perritt baled out and landed slightly injured. He was apprehended that night and taken to an unidentified hospital in Hagen from that day.

On the 12th September he was transferred to Stalag 6D, located on the grounds of the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund. After a short stay he was transferred to Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Vogelsang, today situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, on the 20th September.

Stalag Luft 1 was closed in April 1942 and he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia in Germany, now Żagań in Poland, where he remained until June 1943 when he was amongst the PoWs who were transferred to Stalag Luft 6 at Heydekrug in Memelland (now Šilutė in Lithuania) which became the camp for British and Canadian NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) and later American NCOs.

In early 1944 the Russian Army were advancing into the Baltic States from the North and the East preparation for evacuating the camp was being made. PoWs from Stalag Luft 6, the camp closest to the Russian advance, were in the "northern route" of the force-marches, and were transported to Stalag 20A by train in July 1944, and from there took part in the forced-march.

He was amongst the PoWs whose final destination was Stalag 357, Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland. On the 1st September 1944 the PoWs were force-marched from Stalag 357 to the site of the former Stalag 11D, which was constructed by the Italian PoWs from Stalag 11B. The camp was commonly known as Stalag 357, Fallingbostal but officially the designation was Stalag 357, Oerbke.

In early April 1945 the PoWs were informed by the Commandant Oberst (Col) Hermann Ostmann that 12,000 British PoWs were being evacuated from the camp in the face of the Allied advance.

The now WO. Perritt was amongst the PoWs who were forced-marched from here at the end of the war towards Lübeck. He escaped from the marching column with WO. Cross, WO. Lang and Sgt. Parker by hiding out at Gresse on the 20th April 1945. They were recaptured at Greese when foraging for water by German troops.

Sgt. Albert Cross 534022 RAFVR (PoW No. 179, Stalag 357) was a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner from 44 Sqn Hampden I P4375 which collided with a barrage ballon cable over Hamburg on the 28th/29th July 1940 (1 KiA, 3 PoW);

Sgt. Stanley Lang MiD, 561779 RAF (PoW No. 2692, Stalag 8B) was the Observer from 142 Sqn, Battle I K7696 lost on an operation to Laon on the 19th May 1940;

Sgt. Percy Stephen Parker 366176 RAFVR (PoW No. 91593, Stalag 357). He was captured on the 24th November 1940. No further information found.

After ten (10) days they arrived at Gresse, east of the Elbe. There they were issued with Red Cross parcels, but were then unfortunately strafed by British Typhoonfighter-bombers, mistaking them for German troops. Sixty (60) PoW were killed and many wounded.

WO. ‘Dixie’ Deans confronted OberstOstmann and bluntly gave him a choice, to be captured to the Russians or the British. Ostman provided WO. Deans with a pass and a German guard, and they headed west to contact the advancing British troops. On the 1st May WO. Deans and his guard were sheltering in a house east of Lauenbergwhen they heard over the radio the news of the death of Adolf Hitler. The next morning the house was overrun by troops of the British 6th Airborne. WO. Deans was taken to the commander of VIII Corpsand explained the situation. He was given a captured Mercedes car and drove back to Gresse. Two days later the PoW column marched back across the British lines.

WO. Peritt was interviewed on the 3rd May 1945

Douglas John Perritt was born on the 22nd October 1919 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Prior to enlisting in the RAF on the 23rd August 1937 he was employed as a clerk in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.

Douglas passed away in December 1992 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

Burial details:

Above Reichswald Forest War Cemetery (Courtesy of the CWGC)

Sgt. William Arthur Hughes. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, 28.E.12. Grave Inscription: “HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE. "PEACE, PERFECT PEACE"”. Born on the 7th December 1912. Son of Charles and Alice Albina (née Mills) Hughes. Husband of Evelyn (née Doyle) Hughes of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England.

Above: Grave marker for Sgt. Robert L. Wake (Courtesy of Wargraves Volunteer Photographers - FindAGrave)

Sgt. Robert Leslie Wake. Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, 28.E.11. Grave Inscription: “ALWAYS LOVINGLY REMEMBERED”. Born in the 3rd Qtr of 1914 in Sunderland, Co. Durham. Son of Robert Finlay and Pamala (née Maley – deceased in July 1934) Wake of Sunderland, Co. Durham, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Jun 2026).

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