Lancaster Bomber 514 Squadron

Hello Alex, I will hav emore information soon . Last week, I got a great letter from a 514 Squadron airman Veteran who was shot down on July 29th 1944 !

 

That sounds interesting Skipper. Good to hear from you again.

 

I will send you the story per email tomorrow or tonight if I get home early enough.

 

Alex :

Did you happen to fly on the 8th of July 44 to St. Leu D'Esserent to bomb the V-1 storage facilities ?

thank you

Erich ~

 

No we did not do that trip. We went to Vaires, near Paris. Alex

 

Erich , interested in St Leu? I know a lot about this Operation. I am going to a 8th July crash site in 48 hours. If interested send me a pm.

 

Sorry for the delay Alex, I was waiting for new information. I still have to send you an email, but I was the organiser of a commemoation last Sunday so time was missing.
I have just received some information about F/O Jack Bester RCAF, who apparently was with you at Freteval. Jack crashed near Obville which is north of Orleans and South of Paris. This was during the Villeneuve bombing operation of July 4/5th. He flew Halifax LW166. Does the name of this Canadian ring a bell?

 

Well done Skipper. Yes I knew Jack Bester quite well. I'm sure I have a photo of him and hope to post it when I find it.. Thanks Alex

 

Jack Bester bailed out at the limit of the Paris region. This would be 70km from your crash site. Out of seven men five survived but he was the only one to end up in Freteval. He must have travelled to Freteval via Orleans. It was a bit far away but he was there three weeks before you arrived so I suppose he must have arrived there a few days before you did. To be noticed : he was seperated from his crewmate Atkin who got caught north of Orleans and ended up in Buchenwald. I don't htink they travelled together. If you find the picture, I would love to see what he looks like. There is a monument at the crash site dedicated to the two men who did not make it.

 

Very interesting additional details Skipper, thanks. Jack Bester attended our reunion in Cleveland in 1945. The photo appears on page 1 of this thread in a link posted by E Campbell Mar 10 2006. He is front row 3rd from left.

 

Thank you for identifying him Alex, this is excellent news. One of my friends is doing research about this crash and he also knows a witness who has kept a piece of parachute from this aircraft as a relic . I will try to find out how he reached Freteval.

 

wow what a truely remarkable thread,clearly showing the power of the internet,ive spent the evening reading the 20+ pages and found it very interesting,the moving video,the expert help and piecing together of the story from skipper,elrich ,ect,
But mainly reinforced my feelings of what a debt our society owes to Mr E.A Campbell and others of his type the bravery is beyond belief,with every moment over enemy territory possibly the last,I for one shall make sure that these deeds are never forgotten and my children will know the sacrifices made for their freedom,Thankyou Mr Campbell

 

Glad you joined this thread Simon, I'm sure Alex Campbel will appreciate your warm comment.

 

Simon-welcome indeed to this thread I know you will enjoy reading all the interesting and informative contributions send in by those wonderful folks out there.Thanks Alex Campbell

 

yes indeed Gentlemen this thread goes on and on and more pieces of the continuing puzzle get fitted in where it needs to be. Skip you are finding some remarkable leads for Alex ...........good on you !! The night air-war is so full of open gaps that this has been truly wonderful to follow along Alex's mentions and helping him out on the quest for the truth in his lifes story during the war ~

v/r E ~

 

Welcome Andrew,

You mentioned that you live close to Courbevoie. This scan of a letter from Marcel Liger (Dec 1944)

img_4469.jpg

Gives his address as:

Marcel Liger
2 Rue Rouget de Lisle
Courbevoie

Do you visit Courbevoie? Does this address still exist?

E. Wayne Campbell

 

It would be interesting to have a confirmation but the Rue Rouget de Lisle does still exist in Courbevoie. I once checked the white pages and found it at once. I would suppose there is a Number 2 too , but the question is whether this is the same building as in 1944. Number 2 would mean it is at the beginning of the street near a cross road.

 

two pre-war pictures of the rue Rouget de Lisle in Courbevoie. It was a middle class street with a girl school. Courbevoie is on the Seine River, just west of Paris

 

I'm on a late shift tomorrow, so I'll go to rue Rouget de L'isle in the morning.
Do you want me to take pictures of the building? Anything else while I'm there?
Skipper, I stopped reading the thread at page 14 for the moment. Have you found information about this M.Liger? If the building is the same, do you want me to check out the letter boxes, speak to the concierge if there is one?
I'll try and take the same photos as the ones you've just posted, see how the place has changed...

 

Skipper, those are wonderful pictures of the street.

I wonder if this picture of Marcel Liger and famly was taken at their residence on Rouget de Lisle:
img_4476.jpg

Andrew, we would be very interested in pictures from the street.

W. Campbell