Operation: Nucourt, France

Date: 15th/16th July 1944 (Saturday/Sunday)

Unit No: 76 Squadron, 4 Group

Type: Halifax III

Serial: MZ524

Code: MP:P

Base: RAF Holme on Spalding Moor, East Riding, Yorkshire

Location: 2 km (1¼ mls) west of Courcelles-les-Gisors, France

Pilot: Fg Off. Harry Michael Steward 160646 RAFVR Age 22. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Eric Walter Mickleborough-Saunders 618349 RAFVR Age 23. KiA

Nav: Sgt. Ronald Rowlands Hughes 1493187 RAFVR Age 23. Id No. 78347 *, PoW No. 8097 ** (1 & 2)

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. Colin Sutherland Menzies 1565321 RAFVR Age 29. KiA

WOP/Air Gnr: Sgt. Frank Peirson 1549847 RAFVR Age 22. ID No. 78362 *, PoW No. 8110 **(1 & 3)

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. Robert Bryden 1825512 RAFVR Age 23. Id No. 78365 *, PoW No.8081 ** (1 & 4)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Peter Vincent Boyter 1874522 RAFVR Age 19. KiA

* Buchenwald concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimer, Germany in July 1937.

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

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 15th July 1944 25 aircraft from the squadron took off from RAF Holme on Spalding Moor, the first to launch was at 23:21hrs, to bomb the Nucourt supply dump. The joined a force of 234 aircraft detailed to attack the Bois des Jardins flying bomb (V1) site and the Nucourt V1 supply dump in France.

MZ524 was the only aircraft form the squadron that failed to return. The aircraft was claimed by Hptm. Josef Krahfrost, his 8th Abschuss, from 2.NJG4, at Autheuil-Vernon at 2.000 m, at 01:43 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (12 May 1944 - 23 July 1944) Part 3 - Theo Boiten).

Hptm. Krahfrost was KiA on the night of the 27th/28th September 1944 in a crash at Somborn, Freigericht, 8 km south of Geinhausen, Hessen shot down by unidentified Mosquito intruder. He was credited with 11 confirmed Abschüsse. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten).

The aircraft crashed at 02:30 hrs some 2 km (1¼ mls) west of Courcelles-les-Gisors (Oise) and roughly 12 km (7½ mls) WNW of Chaumont-en-Vexin. Only three of the crew managed to bale out in time.

(1) Sgt. Bryden baled out and landed near Courcelles-les-Gisors. He buried his parachute and hid in a wood until daylight. The next morning he watched people coming out of a farm and contacted some French farmers. A girl brought him food, some civilian clothes and found him a hideout at a house where he found Sgt. Peirson. A guide then took them to the nearby village of Noyers, 8 km (5 mls) WSW of Courcelles-les-Gisors where they were given shelter. This was apparently the centre of the underground organisation in the area and were already sheltering Sgt. Hughes and a number of other evaders.

They remained here for a fortnight at which time word came that they were to be moved on towards the British lines and on the 30th July they moved out of the village. The plan was to take them to the Seine river where they would be handed over to another section of the underground. They arrived safely to the river at 04:00 hrs and were rowed, unchallenged, across by a young woman. They were hidden in a house near the river and a few hours later a truck came for them. Arriving at a garage they changed to a private car driven by a young man who took them to Paris to an unknown address. It was an apartment building were they stayed at a flat until nightfall. The party was then dispersed with Sgt. Bryden and

Sgt. Peirson taken to an unnamed small hotel where they were told to wait until the morning.

They did not like being in Paris but because they were told at briefings to obey the underground they had no other option. The following morning the same young Frenchman returned and told them that they would have to escape over the Spanish frontier. They then returned to the flat and re-joined the rest of the party. On the 2nd August they were then taken to a large square where they were told to wait. A truck came along which they boarded which, unbeknown to them drove them straight to Fresnes prison.

Along with Sgt. Bryden, Sgt. Peirson and Sgt. Hughes those captured were:

Flt Sgt. Leslie John Lucas 1873332 RAFVR;
Flt Sgt. John Crawford R221922 RCAF;
Sgt. William Arthur Waldram R251277 RCAF. They were the Flight Engineer, the Mid-Upper and Rear Gunners respectively from 106 Squadron Lancaster I ME789 lost on the 7th/8th July 1944.

Flt Sgt. Cyril Worsley Nuttall 137476, RAFVR;
Sgt. John Joseph Fernandez 1084999, RAFVR. They were the Navigator and Bomb Aimer respectively from 158 Squadron Halifax III LV790 lost on the 15th/16th July 1944.

2nd Lt. Robert Bruce Hoffman O-758172 USAAF. Pilot from 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group whose P-38J #42-67578 was lost on the 23rd June 1944.

Fresnes prison was located to the south of Paris and was where French political prisoners were held and ordinarily Allied airmen, after questioning, were moved to a PoW Camp. In the summer of 1944, with the Allies having liberated Paris and closing in, the Gestapo guards started reducing the prison population by execution, and then relocating surviving prisoners to various concentration camps east of France. On the 15th August 1944 they were amongst 169 Allied PoWs and hundreds of French men and women who were packed into a freight train and transported to Buchenwald concentration camp on a journey lasting five days. Buchenwald was located 8 km (5 mls) north of Weimar, in the German province of Thüringen. It was established and administered by the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Fg Off. Joel Mathews ‘Tex’ Stevenson C27788 RCAF, the pilot of 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF Lancaster X KB727 VR:H escaped from the train and successfully evaded.

Sqn Ldr. Lamason and Fg Off. Chapman succeeded in getting all but two of the Allied PoWs transferred to Stalag Luft 3. Two airmen, 1st Lt. Levitt Clinton Beck Jr. O-736945, US AAF and Fg Off. Philip Derek Hemmens, 152583, RAFVR died in the sick barrack.

Recognition:

For decades the International Red Cross (IRC) had stated that there were no military personnel in Buchenwald despite the overwhelming documentary and anecdotal evidence. It was not until 1988 that the IRC eventually confirmed the airmen were illegally held at Buchenwald.

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments also consistently denied that any of their service personnel were ever held in concentration camps and refused to investigate the claims made by a 'mere’ handful of men.

Reparations were made to the British airmen who had been illegally held at Buchenwald in 1965. Eventually in 1988 the Australian, New Zealand and it is believed the Canadian governments acknowledged that their airmen had been illegally held in concentration camps.

American airmen were among those receiving compensation and the US Air force have acknowledged the Buchenwald airmen with an exhibit at the Air Force Museum, albeit the airmen are shown in uniform rather than in civilian attire. Furthermore, there is no mention of decades-long denial of their experiences by other branches of the government.

Sgt. Bryden, Sgt. Peirson and Sgt. Hughes were transferred to Stalag Luft 3, over the period 15th to 20th October 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. Sgt. Bryden, Sgt. Peirson and Sgt. Hughes was amongst the PoWs from the West Compound were sent to Stalag 3A, Luckenwalde arriving there in early February.

On the 22nd April 1945 as the Russians approached the camp the guards fled leaving the prisoners to be liberated by the Red Army. Stalag 3A was turned over to the Americans on the 6th May at which time the Senior American Officers (SAO) took over the running of the camp until all the PoWs were evacuated.

(2) Ronald Rowland Hughes was born on the 29th June 1921 in Wrexham, Merioneshire, Wales. He passed away on the 11th January 2004 in Wrecsam, Denbighshire, Wales.

(3) Frank Peirson was born on the 28th April 1922. He was a Corn Merchant and Cattle Food salesman in York prior to enlist in the RAFVR on the 9th November 1941. He passed away in 2012 and was laid to rest in the St. Lambert Churchyard, Burnside, North Yorkshire, England.

(4) Robert Bryden was born on the 16th April 1921 in Dreghorn, Ayrshire, Scotland. He passed away on the 2nd November 1994 in Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Burial details:

Above: The four crew members who perished are the only Commonwealth Graves in the Courcelles-les-Gisors Communal Cemetery. (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)).

Fg Off. Harry Michael Steward. Courcelles-les-Gisors Communal Cemetery Grave 1. Born in the 1st Qtr of 1922 in Atcham, Shropshire. Son of Capt. Harry Steward, OBE, MC, JP, and Sybil M. (née Dovey) Steward, of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.

Sgt. Eric Walter Mickleborough-Saunders. Courcelles-les-Gisors Communal Cemetery Grave 3. Born in the 2nd Qtr of 1921 in Old Buckingham, Norfolk. Son of Walden William and Many Ann Jane Elizabeth (née Gedge) Mickleborough-Saunders of Old Buckingham, Norfolk, England.

Sgt. Colin Sutherland Menzies. Courcelles-les-Gisors Communal Cemetery Grave 2. Born on the 19th December 1914 in Scoonie, Fife. Son of Thomas Bissett and Catherine Alexandra (née Cruick-shank) Menzies. Husband of Jean Lawson (née Allan) Menzies of Kirkcudbright, Scotland.

Sgt. Peter Vincent Boyter. Courcelles-les-Gisors Communal Cemetery Grave 4. Born on the 14th February 1925 in Fife. Son of Robert and of Violet (née Vincent) Boyter of Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Jun 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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