Operation: Orléans, France

Date: 4th/5th July 1944 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Unit No: 12 Squadron, 1 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster III

Serial: ND627

Code: PH:U

Base: RAF Wickenby, Lincolnshire

Location: Fleury-les-Aubrais, 4 km (2½ mls) from the centre of Orléans, France

Pilot: Flt Sgt. Herbert Harry Turner 1384962 RAFVR Age 23. PoW No. 372 * (1)

Flt Eng: Sgt. Wilfred Marshall 1049396 RAFVR Age 22. Id No: 78379 **, PoW No 8106 *** (2)

Nav: WO2. Blair Everett Vipond R171508 RCAF Age 20. KiA

Bomb Aimer: Flt Sgt. Ernest Getty 1490674 RAFVR Age 21. PoW * (1)

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Harry Idle 1324570 RAFVR Age? KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. James Peter Ewing 1896427 RAFVR Age 28. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Frederick Anthony Forster 1876702 RAFVR Age 31. KiA

* Stalag Luft 7, Bankau nr. Kreuzburg O.S." (O.S. standing for Oberschlesien, Upper Silesia). Today called Bąków nr. Kluczbork (Poland).

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

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

Above: WO2. Blair E. Vipond from his Service Record.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 4th/5th July 1944 287 aircraft were detailed to attack the railway yards in Orléans and Villeneuve in France. Of the 3 Lancasters lost on the Orléans raid only one from 12 Sqn failed to return.

ND627 was claimed by Fw. Ernst Reitmeyer, his 13th Abschuss and the first of two this night, from 1./NJG5 over Orléans at 2.500 m. at 01:39 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (12 May 1944 - 23 July 1944) Part 3 - Theo Boiten).

Ofw. Reitmeyer survived the war and was credited with 18 confirmed Abschüsse and 4 awaiting confirmation. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten).

The aircraft crashed at about 02:00 hrs in the commune of Fleury-les-Aubrais, 4 km (2½ mls) from the centre of Orléans and close to the targeted railway yards.

(1) Both Sgt. Turner and Flt Sgt. Getty were captured near Orléans the same day as the crash. After the statutory visit to Dulag Luft, Oberursel both were transferred to Stalag Luft 7 arriving there on the 20th July.

On the 19th January 1945, 1,500 prisoners marched out of the camp in the bitter cold. They crossed a bridge over the river Oderon the 21st January, reached Goldberg on 5th February, and were loaded onto a train.

On the 8th February they reached Stalag 3Alocated about 52 km (32 mls) south of Berlinnear Luckenwalde, which already held 20,000 prisoners, consisting mainly of soldiers from Britain, Canada, the US and Russia.

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.

Flt Sgt. Turner was interviewed on the 13th May 1945.

Herbert Henry Turner was born on the 19th December 1921 in Liverpool. He was a clerk in Walthamstow prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 12th February 1942. He passed away on the 15th August 1996 in Liverpool, England.

Flt Sgt. Getty remained in the camp until the 21st May and was interviewed on the 24th May 1945.

Ernest Getty was born on the 2nd May 1923. He was a student in Belfast, Northern Ireland prior to enlisting in the RAFVR on the 10th September 1941. He passed way on the 27th April 1986 in Southbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

(2) The Escape and Evasion report for Sgt. Marshall is not currently available so details of his escape and evasion from when he abandoned his aircraft and when he was arrested.

What is know is that the Belgian traitor, Desoubrie and his girlfriend Orsini picked up Sgt. Marshall, from Orgères and then went to Chartres to pick up Sgt. Watmough, T/Sgt. Horrigan, and 2nd Lt. J.H. Smith.

Note: Jean-Jacques was a Belgian traitor named Jaques Desoubrie (Jean-Jacques, Jean Masson, Jean Decan and Pierre Boulain were aliases) who had infiltrated the Réseau Comète (Comet Line) escape route in Brussels and Paris. He was responsible for the Nazis rounding up dozen of members of the Réseau Comète and Allied airmen. He was finally captured and stood accused at a French military trial in Lille. He was convicted and condemned to death for having participated in the capture and assassination of members of the resistance and for sending Allied military to their deaths in violation of the Geneva convention. He was executed by firing squad.

Madame Orsini, also known as Colette, was Marie-Antoinette Orsini and an accomplice of Desoubrie. She was arrested by the French authorities but not before Desoubrie tried but failed to kill her so that she would not inform on him.

Sgt. George F. Watmough 1875536 RAFVR, was the Flight Engineer from 433 (Porcupine) Sqn, Halifax III LW120;

2nd Lt. James H. Smith O-698929 USAAF and T/Sgt. Roy J. Horrigan 14979690 USAAF, were the Bombardier and Radio Operator respectively, from 862nd Bombardment Sqn (H), 493rd Bombardment Group (H) B-24H 42-52759.

They then travelled to Paris where they were arrested on the 11th July 1944.

They were then transferred to Fresnes prison which 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.

He was 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.

Sgt. Marshall joined PoWs from the North, East and remaining West compound PoWs and sent to the Marlag und Milag Nord PoW camp at Westertimke in Lower Saxony.

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. It is not known if Sgt. Marshall was amongst the over 3,000 men mustered and marched 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 und Milag Nord camp 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 camp was 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.

Wilfred Marshall was born on the 16th January 1922 in Burnley, Lancashire. He was an Apprentice Cabinet Maker prior to enlisting in the RAFVR. He passed away on the 19th March 1985 in Burnley, Lancashire, England.

Burial details:

Above: The Orléans Main Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Plt Off. Blair Everett Vipond. Orléans Main Cemetery Plot 1. Row A. Grave 14. Born on the 29th December 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta. Son of Russell Everett (Deceased) and Agnes Margaret Myrtle (née Thomson) Vipond of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

WO2 Vipond was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to J88202 Plt Off on the 3rd July 1944.

Sgt. Harry Idle. Orléans Main Cemetery Plot 1. Row A. Grave 13. No further information has been found.

Sgt. James Peter Ewing. Orléans Main Cemetery Plot 1. Row A. Grave 12. Grave Inscription: ‘ALL I ASK IS THAT, AT THE ALTAR AND IN HOLY COMMUNION YOU WILL REMEMBER ME’. Born on the 28th May 1916 in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. Son of Joseph John and Margaret (née McCue) Ewing of Jerviston, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Sgt. Frederick Anthony Forster. Orléans Main Cemetery Plot 1. Row A. Grave 15. Grave Inscription: ‘IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR HUSBAND, WHO DIED IN CERTAIN HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION’. Born on the 1st July 1913 in Warley, Essex. Son of Frederick Robert and Nellie Susannah (née Walker) Forster. Husband of Mary Alleyne (née Woodrow) Forster, of Liskeard, Cornwall, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the crew and their families (Jul 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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