Operation: Tergnier, France

Date: 18th/19th April 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit No: 158 Squadron, 4 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Halifax III

Serial: LV954

Code: NP:Q

Base: RAF Lissett, Yorkshire

Location: Rosières-en-Santerre, 15 km (9¼ mls) NW of Roye, France

Pilot: Flt Sgt. Peter Kettles-Roy 174614 RAFVR Age 20. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Leslie Sowden 1036187 RAFVR Age 22. PoW No. 253 * (1)

Nav: Fg Off. Peter George Taylor 55029 RAF Age 22. Id No: 78425 **, PoW No: 8070 *** (2)

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. George McEwan 1552110 RAFVR Age? KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Robert Wallis Wright 410780 RAAF Age 23. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid-Upp): Sgt. Michael Madden 1874494 RAFVR Age 28. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Alan Francis Kneller 1608360 RAFVR Age 19. KiA

* Stalag 357 Kopernikus at Thorn (Toruń) in Poland. Moved in September 1944. The camp was commonly referred to as Stalag 357 Fallingbostel, however, it was officially designated as Stalag 357 Oerbke.

** 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 18th/19th April 1944 158 Squadron joined a force of 171 aircraft detailed to attack the Tergnier railways yards.

158 Sqn lost the following two of the six Halifaxes that failed to return from this mission:

Halifax III LV946 NP:K. Fg Off. William A. Hughes J14859, RCAF and his crew were KiA when their aircraft collided with 51 Sqn Halifax III LW522 MH:J. Flt Sgt. Alan Sarjantson 1438714, RAFVR and his crew were also KiA.

LV954 was claimed Oblt. Johannes Hager, his 13th Abschuss, from 6./NJG1, 16 km NE Montdidier at 4.000 m, at 23:52 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (16 March 1944 - 11 May 1944) Part 2 - Theo Boiten).

Hptm. Hager survived the war and was credited with 20 confirmed Abschüsse and with 21 awaiting confirmation. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten).

It was believed that a message from the aircraft was heard on the W/T at 22:52 hrs before the aircraft crashed near Rosières-en-Santerre, 15 km (9¼ mls) NW of Roye, France.

(1) Flt Sgt. Sowden was captured near Tergnier on the night of the 18th/19th April 1944.

After the statutory visit and interrogation at Dulag Luft, Oberursel he was transferred to Stalag Luft 6, Heydekrug arriving there on the 1st May 1944.

In early 1944 the Russian Army were advancing into the Baltic States from the North and the East and preparation for evacuating the camp was made. The main American group of 1,500 left the camp on 14th July 1944 and were transported, by train, to the Baltic Port of Memel (now Klaipeda in Lithuania). .On board of the steamers “Masuren” and “Itsteburg” they crossed the Baltic Sea to the German port of Swinemünde (now Swinoujscie in Poland). From there they were brought to Stalag Luft 4 by train. Another group went by train directly from Heydekrug to Stalag Luft 4.

On the 16th July 1944 the remaining PoWs were transported to Stalag 20A by train and from there took part in the forced-march. It was estimated that 100,000 PoWs took the northern route. It went to Stalag Luft 4 at Gross Tychow, Pomerania then via Stettin to Stalag 9B and Stalag 357 in Thorn (Toruń), Poland. Some prisoners were marched from here at the end of the war towards Lübeck, however, for most, Stalag 357 was their final destination.

On the 1st September 1944 Flt Sgt. Sowden was amongst the PoWs who were force-marched from Thorn (Toruń) to the site of the former Stalag 11D. 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 Hermann Ostmann that 12,000 British PoWs were to be evacuated from the camp in the face of the Allied advance. The men marched from the camp in columns of 2,000.

It appears that Flt Sgt. Sowden remained at Stalag 357, which was liberated on the 16th April 1945 by British troopsfrom “B” Squadron 11th Hussars and the Reconnaissance Troop of the 8th Hussars. They were met at the main gate of the camp by a guard of Airborne troops, impeccably attired and led by RSM Lord. Flt Sgt. Sowden was interviewed on the 2nd May 1945.

Leslie Sowden was born on the 6th May 1921 in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He was a Fitter and Tool setter in Leeds prior to enlisting the RAFVR on the 2nd February 1941.

(2) After baling out Fg Off. Taylor evaded capture and was sheltered by the Resistance in various safe houses. He was hiding in Lachaussée-du-Bois d'Écu and was one of three airmen who were hiding in the area around Beauvoir. The other two were Lt. Hunter and Sgt. Edge.

1st Lt. Harry F. Hunter DFC O-665801, USAAF;

Sgt. William L. Edge 6969780, USAAF.

The airmen were captured in a trap which was organised by two French collaborators working for the who were working with the local Sicherheitsdienst (SD) (Security service of the Schutzstaffel (SS)). The airmen were arrested on the 25th July and sent to the Beauvais prison and then on the 29th July to Fresnes after interrogation.

After liberation both of the French collaborators were eventually brought before the French courts and found guilty of the charges brought against them. They were sentenced to death, however, their sentences were commuted to hard labour and then to 20 years imprisonment. They were both released in the early 1960s and were never seen or heard of again.

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 the East Compound at 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. Fg Off. Taylor was amongst the North, East and remaining West compound PoWs that were sent on the 2nd February or 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 and marched them out, heading east. Fg Off. Taylor was not listed amongst PoWs marched to Lübeck but the list isn’t comprehensive, however, the date of his liberation makes it likely that he was amongst those on the forced march.

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 1945.

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. He was amongst those who were liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on the 1st May 1945.

Peter George Taylor was born on the 6th June 1922 in Wells, Somerset. He enlisted in the RAF on the 23rd August 1938 as an apprentice at RAF Halton. He passed away on the 26th June 2009 in Wells, Somerset.

Burial details:

Above: Meharicourt Communal Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission)

The reverse side of the grave markers for the 5 airmen are the first four from the left on the far row. From the left, Flt Sgt. McEwan, Sgt Kneller & Flt Sgt. Wright, Flt Sgt. Kettles-Roy, Sgt Madden.

Flt Sgt. Peter Hugh Kettles-Roy. Meharicourt Communal Cemetery British Plot. Coll. grave 35. Grave inscription: ‘ONE OF KENYA'S BRAVE SONS’. Born on the 13th January 1924 in London, England. Son of Maj. H. Kettles-Roy and Mrs. A. B. Kettles-Roy of Nairobi, Kenya.

Sgt. George McEwan. Meharicourt Communal Cemetery British Plot. Grave 36. No further information found.

Remembered on the Roll of Honour on the Scottish National War Memorial.

Flt Sgt. Robert Wallis Wright. Meharicourt Communal Cemetery British Plot. Coll. grave 35. Born on the 1st July 1920 in Launceston, New South Wales. Son of Arthur Wallace and Thelma Mary Wright of Emerald, Victoria, Australia.

Sgt. Michael Madden. Meharicourt Communal Cemetery British Plot. Grave 34. Grave Inscription: ‘YOUR MEMORY IS OUR GREATEST TREASURE. LOVING WIFE MARY AND SON THOMAS. R.I.P.’. Son of John and Mary Madden. Husband of Florence Mary Madden of Manchester, England.

Sgt. Alan Francis Kneller. Meharicourt Communal Cemetery British Plot. Coll. grave 35. Born in the 3rd Qtr of 1924 in Basford, Nottingham. Son of Walter Alfred and Hilda Winifred (née Elliott) Kneller of Bitterne, Southampton, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Jul 2024). Thanks to Franck Signorile (French Historian) for additional information about the captured airmen (Sep 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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