The Hemmens Story

The Hemmens Story

A complicated story of how Hemmens was mixed with four aircrew who survived a Halifax crash. They were all arrested on their way to Paris. They were sent to Fresnes prison then Buchenwald where Hemmens died, due to medical neglect.

One printed sheet

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The HEMMENS story
Itinerary of a bomb aimer, after the crash of his Lancaster bomber ND 533 9 Th. June 1944

Mrs Adeline LAVANDIER is making enquiries about aircraft shot down in the forest of Lyons, in Normandy. She contacted Mr RAULIN, who was a teacher in Hacqueville during the war. This man used to keep a register of the allied aviators who crashed in the area. He also used to organise their way back to London. RAULIN advised Mrs LAVANDIER to contact René HERCOUET, a farmer, who was a resistance fighter during the war. Then, Mr Hercouet told her about HEMMENS:

Four aviators from a Halifax bomber survived the crash of their plane in Goupilière, on the 28 Th. of June 1944. (It was the Handley Page Halifax LW 143 DY.O – squadron 102 and the aviators were D. EAGLE, R. JOYCE, D. LESLIE and R. LEVERINGTON) Three of them (JOYCE, LESLIE and EVERINGTON) joined the farm HELLOT in Beauficel, probably with the help of the forestry workers who were very active in the "Resistance". Later on, they joined the farm VERHAEGUE in Mortemer's abbey. There are several kilometres between those two farms.

The fourth one, EAGLE, was hidden by HERCOUET and joined his colleagues later on directly at the farm VERHAEGUE. But when he got to that place, four aviators were already hidden! Five people were there, even though only four had survived! Mr. Hercouet supposes that the fifth one was HEMMENS.

Then, the five men travelled towards Paris, but were arrested on their way and deported to Buckenwald. A very active resistance fighter, ALBERT DELACOUR, the last remaining of his group, told me recently that 17 aviators were betrayed and arrested in the escape network in the vicinity of BONNIERES SUR SEINE, between Les Andelys and Paris.

You can find the four names of the Halifax bomber crew on the list given by Frank Peirson, who was radio in an other Halifax bomber shot down in the area on the 15 Th. of July 1944. On this list, you find also WATMOUGH, who had known Hemmens in Fresnes prison. Mrs Lavandier deduced from it that they had been betrayed and given up to the Germans by DESOUBRIES, who also betrayed resistance fighters in the area:

This traitor Desoubries had been discovered thanks to an enquiry about the death of BECK (an American pilot) in Buckenwald. In fact, Beck's mother was a friend of the American General Marshall's wife. She had began an enquiry about the presence of numerous aviators in the concentration camp, even though those boys should have been sent to a prisoner's camp for aviators, the "Stalag Luft III".

Thanks to that enquiry, the aviators were transferred to this Stalag on the 19 Th. of October 1944. Later, Desoubries was arrested and shot in the "Fort de Montrouge" in 1947. "Long live Hitler" was his last cry!