Wellington HZ355 from 429 Squadron

Sgt. John J. Smith RAF Sq. 218 (Listed on the Comete website) Arrested with my Uncle on July 9th, 1943 in Paris. My Uncle remembers carrying the female Doctor's heavy bag with Smith. "Smitty was on one side and I was on the other" When they were walking towards the Train station they were both carrying the bag and that was when they were arrested by the Gestapo.

When he was in Liege, (the second time he said it was in Brussels) he was at ETIENNE House (Not sure if the house was owned by Etienne. He said "there were about 18 to 20 guys like me there" He said that there was a daughter named Yvette who acted at a theatre. Mentioned Waloom? A Maid/Servant worked in the garage with an Underground newspaper. He gave me the address of the house and said that he wasn't suppose to know it but he looked anyway and remembers it. (He said normally that he had to bend over and not see what the house numbers and street names were.) He said that was where he met "The Captain." He was taken to a Photographer from there. He said that he was treated differently there from the other houses before that one.

 

Skipper,
I knew about him but didn't have all the details yet. Thank you! Bailey wrote to my Uncle about his mom that passed away shortly after hearing about the tragedy. Said that "She wanted to be with her son Up There!

Jo Ann

 

Sgt. Stan Eardley, RAF Gunner (I think this is him Halifax ll Serial DT680, of 408 Squadron)
My Uncle said that he was an Englishman that he met in a Prison Camp in Muhlberg (4B). Said that Stan could read, write and speak German but that the Germans did not know it and it helped them in the Camp and Escapes.

 

Sgt William "Bill" E. Cole, RAF Squadron 7, Engineer (Stirling EF366) I will need to show a picture of him to my Uncle. It lists Cole on the Comete Line as being arrested July 9, 1943 in Paris. (There were two other RAF with my Uncle that he didn't know their names when they were arrested.)
My Uncle only remembers sharing a cell with a man named Bill Cole in Fresnes. My Uncle thinks that Cole was arrested before he was. There has been some confusion with the name Cole and Coles. I will need to check further on this to make sure. Hopefully the picture will clear this up.

 

here is info about Eardley's crew. Halifax DT680 crashed near Hamburg which was the target.
F/L W.A.Black RCAF KIA Sgt S.Eardley PoW Sgt B.G.Howe PoW F/S F.Waite RCAF PoW Sgt J.A.Taplin PoW Sgt J.S.A.Aubry RCAF PoW P/O I.G.Imrie RCAF PoW Sgt J.S.A.Aubry RCAF was interned in Camps 8B/344/L3. PoW No.27458. Sgt S.Eardly in Camps 8B/344/4B/L7, PoW No.27469. Sgt B.G.Howe in Camps 8B/344, PoW No.27496 with Sgt J.A.Taplin, PoW No.27493 and F/S F.Waite, PoW No.27482. P/O I.G.Imrie in Camp L3, PoW No.505. "

 

Sgt. Frank Hugo RAF Squadron 7 (Same Crew with Cole) Comete Line has information on him.
My Uncle said he was in Prison Camp Muhlberg 4B with him. He remembers that the Germans had a hard time with his name, they kept calling him "Hugo Frank." Because in Germany HUGO is a first name and FRANK is a last name. My Uncle said that when the Germans called Frank's name wrong, he would say "Oh there they go again."

 

This is what I got on cole's crew at the lost bombers site:

"22Jun43. Shot down by a night-fighter (Hptm Siegfried Wandam, 1./NJG5), and crashed 0140 at Achel (Limburg), 5 km W of Hamont, Belgium. The two men killed are buried in Heverlee War Cemetery. F/O R.B.Meiklejohn RAAF KIA Sgt F.W.Coles PoW P/O C.H.G.Redwood RNZAF KIA Sgt F.Hugo PoW Sgt L.E.Ellingham PoW Sgt J.Kilfoyle PoW F/S E.A.Brown PoW F/S W.A.Brown was interned in Camps L6/357. PoW No.320 (or possibly 298). Sgt F.W.Coles (or Cole) initially evaded until captured in Paris 9Jul43 and interned in Camp 4B. PoW No.22495, Sgt L.E.Ellingham was captured in Paris 17Jul43,Incarcerated in Fresnes Prison before internment in 4B PoW No.222508. Sgt F.Hugo also evaded and was captured in Paris Aug43 and interned in Camp 4B, PoW No.222518. Sgt J.Kilfoyle in Camp 357, PoW No.43262. 'Air Battle of the Ruhr'. A.Cooper, records Sgt F.W.Coles as Sgt F.W.Cole. Crash-site is also reported as Neerpelt, Belgium. "

It is interesting to see that three men from this crew were aparently traced by the same traitor and arrested by the Gestapo at the same place on different dates. This tends to prove that de Zitter knew about the people who were helping the airmen, but instead of turning them in, he kept asking them for more airmen (which they send him , as they did not suspect he was a traitor) . By acting this way he would gain much more money, as he would get airmen over and over again and the helpers could not verify they were in fact turned in.

 

Skipper....I'm impressed!

Let's keep going...Uncle not at home! I can type for a while! Grandson...ZZZZZZZ!

 

smith is more difficult to find the only John Smith I have listed from 218 was kia and RAAF, so I will have to find another one at an earlier crash date.

 

Skipper,

My Uncle told me that when he got to the Etienne house, "The Captain" (De Zitter) gave the group of men letters to read by Allied Airmen that went before him. My Uncle read a letter and it was in English. He doesn't remember the contents of the letter or who wrote it. When the group arrived in Paris "The Captain" (De Zitter) asked My Uncle and Smith to write letters to take back to the next group that was to come. My Uncle did not write a letter and he said that it made "The Captain" mad. My Uncle said that Smith wrote one. My Uncle also said that while he was on the train he got a bad feeling about the trip and because things were different at the Etienne House and how the Guide was on the train he didn't trust them too much. He said "What could I do, I had to trust them at the time."

 

Skipper,

John J. Smith listed on the Comete Line website. I can go back and look later.

Edit: Found his information.

Stirling BF505 Information

Type​

Stirling

Serial Number​

BF505

Squadron​

218

X1D​

HA-Z

Operation​

Dortmund

Date 1​

4th May 1943

Date 2​

5th May 1943


Further Information

"Serial Range BF500 - BF534. 35 Stirling Mk.111. Part of a batch of 200 Short S.29 Stirling Mk.1/111/1V. BF309- BF358; BF372-BF416; BF434-BF454 (116) Mk.1; BF455-BF483; BF500- BF534; BF561-BF580 (84) Mk.111; BF464; BF468; BF532; BF575; BF580 were converted to Mk.1V. Delivered by Short & Harland between Mar43 and May43. Contract No.774677/38. Delivered to No.218 Sqdn 23Mar43. Airborne 2240 4May43 from Downham Market. Shot down by a night- fighter (Lt Robert Denzil,1V./NJG1), crashing 0107 at Murmerwoude (Friesland), 5 km S of Dokkum, Holland. Those killed are buried in Dantumadeel (Mumerwoude) General cemetery. F/L W.L.Turner RCAF KIA Sgt F.N.Robinson KIA Sgt W.N.Forth KIA Sgt J.L.White PoW P/O P.S.Beck PoW F/S J.M.J.Smith PoW Sgt H.W.Sawkings KIA F/S G.A.Hinshelwood KIA P/O P.S.Beck was interned in Camp L3. PoW No.1254. F/S J.M.J. Smith in Camp 4B, PoW No.222555. Sgt J.L.White in Camps L1/L6/L4/11B, PoW No.1165. 'Air Battle of the Ruhr', A.Cooper, records Sgt H.W.Sawkings as Sgt H.W.Sawkins and F/S G.A.Hinshelwood as F/S G.A.Hinselwood. "

 

got him , he crashed on May 4/5th 1943 at MURMERWOUDE, frisia (Netherlands) .
F/L W.L.Turner RCAF KIA Sgt F.N.Robinson KIA Sgt W.N.Forth KIA Sgt J.L.White PoW P/O P.S.Beck PoW F/S J.M.J.Smith PoW. Sgt H.W.Sawkings KIA F/S G.A.Hinshelwood KIA P/O P.S.Beck was interned in Camp L3. PoW No.1254. F/S J.M.J.Smith in Camp 4B, PoW No.222555. Sgt J.L.White in Camps L1/L6/L4/11B, PoW No.1165.

 

The Pilot Russell, of a B17 My Uncle thinks he came from San Angelo or San Antonio, Texas. My Uncle said he met him in Fresnes Prison.

(It might be the following Lt. Michael / Michel Russell (O-747325) (From Alabama. Shot down on Berlin Mission March 6, 1944, the Dates don't add up though because by March 1944, My Uncle was in the Camps by then. It could be either someone else or he met him at one of the camps or Buchenwald.

 

FORD the Flight Engineer

My Uncle said he met him in Fresnes (Again might be a camp instead)

Skipper,

Check on a T/Sgt Charles Morrissey Ford, Turret Gunner/Engineer on B-17, shot down May 29, 1943

 

Whitney Gunner from Erie, Pennsylvania
My Uncle said he met him in Fresnes (again it might be a camp)

Might be the same as Ford (B-17)

 

Stuart M. Sharp from Decatur, Illinois

My Uncle said he met in Fresnes (again might be a camp)

I think he was with FORD and WHITNEY.

 

Jo Ann may I ask where you received info that Kollak was the pilot as NJG 4 was quite active, he shot down 1 Wellington, a Halifax and a Lancaster according to German records at Freiburg.........

other NJG 4 pilots that scored or made claims were :

Oberleutnant Bergmann and a Major Holler who shot down 2 - a Wellington and a Stirling plus from IV./NJG 4 a Hauptmann Wohlers a Wellington

also it is confirmed that a 429th squadron Wellington fell to Leutnant Werner Baake of I./NJG 1

 

Erich,

I would have to go back and check who told me about him here (several people) and then the website I found him on him, I will get that and then he is listed on the Lost Bombers site.

Hang on....

Jo Ann

 

Erich,

This is a site I checked on him too.

Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 - NJG 1

 

Erich,

Wellington HF542 Information

TypeWellingtonSerial NumberHF542Squadron429X1DAL-?OperationD_sseldorfDate 111th June 1943Date 212th June 1943

Further Information

"Serial range HF513 - HF545. 33 Wellington Mk.X. HF452-HF606, 118 Wellington Mk.X, delivered by Vickers (Chester) in May and June 1943. Part of a batch of 1100 Wellington Mk.1C/111/X/X11/X1V. HD942-HF606. For the full list of this large batch refer to Record No.6135. HF542 was one of three 429 Sqdn Wellingtons lost on this operation. See: HE593; HZ235. Airborne 2308 11Jun43 from East Moor. Shot down by a night-fighter (Lt Werner Baake, 1./NJG1) and crashed 0110 at Westendorp (Gelderland), 8 km ESE of Doetinchem, Holland. Three are buried in Wisch (Varsseveld) General Cemetery and the other two have no known graves. P/O R.P.Davies RCAF KIA Sgt D.E.Campbell RCAF KIA Sgt R.Zeidel RCAF KIA Sgt L.P.R.Taillefer RCAF KIA Sgt A.J.Maclachlan RCAF KIA "


This one was listed for Baake on Lost Bombers (Not my Uncle's plane. My Uncle's was HZ355.