LANCASTER LM 178 of 300 Squadron

You're right - scanners rule!
A page from my gran's (Zuliene Shortt) autograph book. She was 17 at the time, approx. 2 years before she met my grandad, (known as Leonard). So far, Eric unknown. But Eric is likely to have been Anglo-Indian, like my gran, living in Bangalore at the time.
Len was about ten years older then my gran when they first saw each other in St Paul's Catholic church in Bangalore, which I did visit in 2008. Although, I don't know exactly, they apparently married not long after knowing each other, meaning my gran moved to England to live with his family. She had my mum, in 1942 and my uncle, Len in Dec 1944. After the war, she returned to India with my mum and uncle until it became independent in 1948. - Sorry I realise this is not particularly war-related, but I often think about this when considering that my grandad would have known that he was about to be a father for the second time, but never got to find out whether that baby would have been a daughter or a son.
Photo: Les? and Len - no date, but must be between 1942ish and 1944 I guess.

4.

 

Thanks a lot for the pictures and the stories that goes with them. You're getting good both at scanning and posting on the net .

 

Another tragedy of war......a father who never gets to meet his son. We owe so much to these men. Thanks again for posting these pictures, Gill.

Don

 

Excellent post, Gill. Thank you for sharing the photo and page from your gran's autograph book.

 

Hi there, just a query - was Thomas Farrell Gallagher Canadian or British and does anyone know when he died? Was it 1998? Tried googling it, but not able to find. Also, I'm sure Bill Robinson was Canadian, not sure why I think that. Perhaps I've seen something somewhere. Did he pass away in 1986? These particular years for some reason ring a bell. Don - I might have read them on one of your articles/posts?? My girls and I are making a poppy with details to lay by the war memorial in Westerham for Remembrance Sunday.

Cheers, Gill

 

Hi Gill,

Thomas (he preferred to be called Farrell) Gallagher went on to survive the war and returned to Canada. He passed away in Toronto in August 1997 at the age of 75. FYI, it was his idea to call LM178 "Luck of the Irish". Sam's wife told me that they stayed in contact right up until his death, as well as with William Robinson. I am sorry but do not have any info on him. Both were Canadians I believe.

Cheers,
Don

 

Last year I came in contact with a wonderful artist in Poland who is also a warbirds fanatic like the rest of us, Peter Forkasiewicz. He has been working on a digital rendering of the attack on LM178 on the night of July 24, 1944 and today he sent me the finished product. I am so grateful and overwhelmed by Peter's dramatic interpretation of the event, as well at the skill with which he portrayed it. Here is Into The Darkness.







If anyone would like to get a copy of this, please send me a personal message and I will forward Peter's contact information to you.

Thanks,

Don

 

Hi Don, my god, this is amazing. I would love to have a copy. How do I send you a personal message? I'm so glad you warbird fanatics are so dedicated to the cause of not forgetting what happened to these men. Completely stunned by this artwork. Only last night, was I trying to picture what their last moments would have been like.

And thanks Don, for the details about Farrell Gallagher and William Robinson.

When searching for info on Lancaster bombers the other day, I came across an edited documentary in colour on youtube of a Lancaster on a bombing raid in 1944. It starts from their briefing, the mission and returning to a base in England. The edited version is about 20 minutes, but there is a link to a full length version. It was really interesting and close up to watch. You may have already come across it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNVwXQygoUY

Forever grateful to you all,

Gill

 

Hi Gill,

I just watched the full version of this video a couple of days ago. It certainly gives you a glimpse into a day in the life of a bomber crew, doesn't it?

To send me a personal message, just click on my username (in the upper left of any of my posts) and select Send a Message.

Don

 

Hello Don, this is certainly a great piece of art. pm sent.

 

I asked Peter to include the names of the entire crew. Much better now!

 

Cheers Don. I have emailed Peter about copies.

 

I received a copy of this invitation from Sam's son yesterday. If anyone is interested in attending, please contact me and I will forward the information.

Cheers,
Don

[SIZE=11pt] Dear Madam, Dear Sir[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]70 years ago, World War II was about to take a decisive turn. Air strikes of all Allied Forces multiplied and there were heavy casualties. In order to get a maximum of aircrew members back, from the front in the Centre Région, a camp was settled in Freteval Forest.152 aviators from different nationalities found shelter and assistance in the camp, thanks to the help provided by local inhabitants living in our small villages. On 13[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]th[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]AUGUST 1944, the Allied Forces that came from Normandy liberated the camp.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Next year, the local council and the citizens of Villebout and Bellande will commemorate (june 28 - 29 2014) the 70[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]th[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]anniversary of the creation of the clandestine camp in the Fréteval Forest.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Your presence at the ceremony, as well as that of members of your family would be very much appreciated.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]We invite you to share two commemoration days with us in Villebout (Loir-et-Cher) in France. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]If you so wish, we will give your further details about the organizational aspect and we will keep you updated for further developments.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.[/SIZE]

 

Well, this story never seems to end. I was visiting my father today (he will be 96 this year) and while I was having lunch with him, received an e-mail from Grace Dunseith, telling me more details about Sam's Sombra Museum display. So I stopped to see her on my way home. As I was there she spoke about a man named Johnny Sandulak who Sam had met in the Freteval Forest camp. Apparently Johnny had bailed out of his Lancaster "prematurely" on the Stuttgart mission of 24 July and had wound up at the camp surrounded by quite a bit of suspicion, mainly because his Lancaster had not crashed anywhere in the vicinity. In fact, the crew had managed to nurse it home to England, unbeknownst to Johnny. There was concern that he was a spy. Sam, still blind from his burns, overheard this conversation and on hearing Johnny's accent, said "Oh he's a Canadian alright. And he's probably from the prairies." Sandulak had told his "captors" that he was from Manitoba so all was well at that point and Sam and Johnny struck up a friendship that carried over after the war.

When I got home I just had to do some searching for more info on John Sandulak and found the following story. It was written by his daughter I believe and is about the events that brought him to Freteval Forest and Èscadrille Soixant-neuf`. The following image of the evader`s `passport` carried by Sandulak clearly shows Sam`s signature just below the large circle.



Here is the link to John Sandulak`s story....

http://www.rafinfo.org.uk/rafescape/freteval/sandulak.htm

Cheers,
Don

 

Hi Don, The Sandulak story has been a mystery for many searchers for quite a few years. It has even been mentioned he was a Pole or a Russian due to his strong accent. I can imagine the suspicion he went through after showing up at Freteval whereas his aircraft did in fact not crash. It is believed he underwent an impressive interrogation by some big guys from the Resistance before they finally let him in the forest.
One thing I did not know was the fact he was first hosted by some locals. This might be an interesting lead to follow.

 

Hello Gentlemen, My sister and I came across this forum and the mention of our Dad, John Sandulak. I would like to add to what you have heard or read about Dad. He did indeed bail out over France although I don't think he would agree with his action being called "premature" as he was given his order and had removed his headset prior to bailing out so did not hear the order to stay with the plane. That aside, Dad was a born in Canada with no accent, strong or otherwise. Certainly not a "Pole Or Russian". Not much mystery there, just a young man serving his country
He did spend a couple of days with a farm family in France who hid him until the Resistance men took him into the forest. He was always grateful to the people who most likely saved his life Dad was not one to talk about his experiences too much or too often but his was an interesting story. He always gave credit to Sam Dunseith for helping him prove he was a Canadian airman Dad did not speak any French and was at a great disadvantage in that regard.
Could you explain who the searchers are and why they think there is a mystery surrounding Dad? Thanks
Dad passed away in 2010 and was honoured by his local Legion with a Legion Tribute at his funeral. We miss him terribly.

 

Thank you for your valuable input, it's always nice to have more information about those who served . John Sandulak is not forgotten

 

Hi Dad'sGirl!

Welcome to the forum and many thanks for your comments. I hope you aren't offended by my "premature" comment. I put it in quotations just to emphasize the irony of the situation. Your dad was indeed following orders and doing what he thought he was supposed to be doing. The fact that the Lancaster and rest of her crew managed to carry on and safely make it home was just one of those crazy things that happens in war. I apologize if any offense was taken.

As far as his accent is concerned, I am sure any of us born in Canada would not even take much notice of a "western" accent but I am sure that the French underground could have misconstrued it as something totally foreign, especially under the "suspicious" circumstances of your dad's appearance (again, please notice my use of quotes).

I am very sorry to hear of your dad's passing. I was hoping to track him down and speak to him as Sam and Grace Dunseith spoke very highly of him. My deepest condolences.

Sincerely,
Don C

 

Hello Don,

Thank you for your kind words re: Dad's passing. We miss him so much.

My sisters and I have been doing some research on Dad and his war story. We have come across some correspondence to him from one of the French fellows who helped him out. In fact, my Mom thinks it may have been from the farmer who first took him in. This is very exciting for us as we are on our way to France shortly to take part in the celebrations at the Foret de Freteval in memory of all the brave Resistance men and women and the aviators that they saved. If you would be interested in our adventures while there and who we may find during our travels, please let me know and perhaps we can be in touch.

Dad's Girl

 

Good morning Everyone,
My sisters and I have heard that Alex Campbell's relatives might be in France at the ceremonies at Freteval at the end of June. We would love to make contact with them before hand if possible as we are laying a wreath and wonder if they would care to take part with us. We have also just found some pictures my dad had and letters and telegrams from members of his squadron and the Canadian government to my grandparents when dad was missing and then returned to England. Also cards and letters from members of the Maquis after the war. We believe we know the name of the farmer who hid dad prior to his entering the camp in the forest. Very exciting for us to think we may be able to retrace his footsteps while there and possible make contact with some of these people or their relatives.

Thanks for any info you might have.

Dad's Girl (aka Lori)