Lancaster Bomber 514 Squadron

The Lanc shaped sign is well done.

 

Hello,.
In the post page 44 of E.CAMPBELL, there is a link with a picture (forced march) about the path of 21 days of Earl GARLAND when he was a prisoner.
Could someone tell me what is the ration, because in France we do not have the same measures
Thanks in advance
Kind regards
Mike

 

Pardon moi.

 

One feet is about 33cm so dived by 3 . 500 meters would be 500 : 3 = about 167 meter

 

Sorry, there is about 300 meters or 900 feet.

 

Mike, thanks so much for posting those images - a memorable trip for my brother and sisters.
I will post some more images from the area.

Dad is planning to respond - we need to find his password for the forum!

Cheers, Wayne

 

Thank you Wayne,
I am pleased to publish these photos.
I have a picture of families CAMPBELL, HARVEY CHAPMAN and with Michael and Roger, but I do not know if I can.
Here is a picture of those present at the ceremony with the village Morenneville, the crash site.
A memory of American soldiers in St Cloud Dunois August 15, 1944, the day of release

Annuler les modifications






View attachment 17996

 

I'm working on it, see PM.

 

New information about the events of July 28, 1944 (images link at end of message)

For those of you who have been following this thread over the past years you will know that the story has grown from a few details of the demise of Lancaster A2C on the night of July 28, 1944 to a highly detailed account of the places and the people involved, my Dad, E.A. Campbell piloted the lancaster and Johannes Strassner was the Luftwaffe pilot who attacked Dad's Lanc that night, the French communites involved included St. Cloud, Morenneville, ChateauDun. Erich and many others have contributed to this story, Skipper particularly has been relentless in his pursuit of names, events and places pertaining to this event. A year ago this story came to the attention of Michel, a resident of Morenneville France, he works on the farm where Lancaster A2-C crashed, he contacted us and extended an invitation to visit.

Recently my brother and sisters travelled to France to meet Michel and members of the community involved in the events of July 28/29 1944. The sons of crew members Sam Harvey and Jack Chapman and their wives also took part.
Our group received an incredible reception, a display hall was filled with artifacts and memorabilia from the era. They actually met members of the community who were directly involved in the events of July, 44 - the young men and women who at great risk to themselves helped these airmen escape to safety.

They met Daniel Cogneau, a young man in 1944, he led Dad from a safe-house past German guard posts to safety in the Freteval forest - Gisele, 17 years old, she took in an injured Sam Harvey and concealed him in her family's home, Colette, Mrs. Silly, Mr. David and others all took part - at great risk to themselves.

Incredibly Dad's parachute still exists, hidden in a community barn since 1944.

I have posted some pictures and captions from the visit here:

France-2012

If you have more information to add about the event please do so.

Regards, Wayne Campbell

 

Thanks for adding this new link with additional pictures from the event. The dinghy looks in top condition.

 

Wonderful photos, Wayne. Thanks for sharing them with us.

 

Thank you Wayne.
Many emotions.
Daniel COGNEAU was my gym teacher in college, but he never spoke of what he had done during the war.
We wished that we talk about at this time. I told him on September 8, he was very moved
Wonderful day View attachment 18031

 

I love htis picture, it looks like the model is a real aircraft.

 

Bonjour Mike,

Emotional for all of us, the courage of these young people like Daniel Cogneau, is incredible.

There are probably more elderly members of your community, like Daniel, Colette, Giselle, Solange and others who lived extraordinay lives during the war and no one knows about this part of their life.

There is another person involved in this story we would like to learn more about, Marcel Liger (?). We believe he was present in Morreneville in July, 1944.
Skipper has made some inquiries, perhaps someone in the community would know this person, he wrote letters to dad after the war, I have them posted here:

Letters from France

Joyeux Noël, Wayne Campbell

 

Ah, the good Marcel. All I know is that he returned near Paris after 1945. I even managed to find his former hometown near Paris but do not have any further information.

 

Bonjour Wayne
Hello
People who lived through the war did not talk about, unfortunately.
My father went to war in August 1939, then he was a prisoner of war in Germany until May 1945.
My sister was born on 1 September 1939, when he came back she was almost 6 years.
Regarding Marcel LIGER who worked for railways (SNCF – Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français - National Society of French Railways), my father has the know because it also worked there (1936 to 1969). He was Chief of Station in Civry-St Cloud (station St. Cloud Dunois) from 1946 to 1969.
Unfortunately my parents are both deceased.
I'll try to find a record with former colleagues of my father.

Happy Christmas
Joyeux Noël à tous

kind regards

Mike

 

Cheers Mike. Does this mean Marcel sold his other house (Parisian house) or was Paris his parents' address (were he stayed before the war) ? The SNCF lead is interesting they have important archives.

 

Alex Campbell here, a day late but still in time to wish all a Merry Christmas along with New Years greetings.
The never ending postings and connections to this thread are truly amazing and appreciated.
Cheers every one Skipper of Lancaster A2 C

 

My Salute goes to the most honoured and valued member of this magnificent Forum.
The man who, above all, has made this the best forum of its kind.

Season Greetings Alex, and with all my heart, Best Wishes of the Season.

 

There is now a special thread for Sam's Lancaster here :

http://www.ww2f.com/honor-service-valor/58226-lancaster-lm-178-300-squadron.html

Postings relating LM178 have not vanished, they are just in a separate thread to make things easier to sort out.