David Carter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Photograph]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Poland]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> 1941]]> 1943-04]]> 1944-03-30]]> 1944-03-31]]> 1945-01-19]]> POW Accounts Department]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany]]> Czech Republic]]> Poland]]> Austria]]> Slovakia]]> 1944-09-21]]> MI9]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Service material]]> Royal Air Force]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Poland]]> Poland--Tychowo]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1945-05-11]]> Susan Carter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> #1 is the camps he was incarcerated in and the duration.
#2 Ron's evacuation from Stalag Luft 7 on the Long March.
#3 is a list of the daily march from Stalag Luft 7 to 3A]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> France]]> France--Pontlevoy]]> France--Chartres]]> Germany]]> Germany--Winterfeld]]> Germany--Karlsruhe]]> Germany--Goldberg (Schwerin)]]>
Susan Carter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> France]]> France--Caen]]> Susan Carter]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> J Usher]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1945-01-19]]> 1945-02-15]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Personal research]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Canadian Air Force]]> Wehrmacht]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Germany]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Arnstein (Main-Spessart)]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Canada]]> Manitoba--Brandon]]> Alberta--Calgary]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany--Bad Tölz]]> Manitoba]]> 1944-04-26]]> 1944-04-27]]> 1945-01-19]]> 1945-02-15]]> 1945-04-21]]> J Usher]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Cara Walmsley]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> Germany]]> Germany--Schweinfurt]]> Germany--Arnstein (Main-Spessart)]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany--Berlin]]> 1944-04-25]]> 1945-01-19]]> 1945-02-05]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Map]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany]]> Poland]]> Austria]]> Hungary]]> Yugoslavia]]> Slovakia]]> Czech Republic]]> He joined the Local Defence Volunteers at first then realised he did not want to become infantry. He did mount road blocks and fire watches. He applied to join the RAF and was accepted. Training was at Blackpool, then Bicester, then Fairoaks.
At Heaton Park he was assessed as a future Navigator and was sent to Canada via New York on the Queen Elizabeth.
Then they were sent by train to Three Rivers, Manitoba via Moncton.
On completion of that stage of the training he came back via Liverpool. Further training was at Lossiemouth then operations at Leconfield. His aircraft engines started losing power on the way to Stuttgart and he bailed out. After some time they were captured by Germans.
They were sent by train to Frankfurt for interrogation then onwards to Stalag Luft VII. As the Russians advanced they were marched to Stalag III. They were eventually helped to escape by the Americans and he ended up in Brussels before being flown to the UK. This section ends with photographs taken during his training.
The Long March.
A document written by a Senior British Officer to the Russian authorities. Food supplies were inadequate and the Russians refused to allow the Americans to release the prisoners.
Report of a Forced March made by Occupants of Stalag Luft 7, Germany.
The report describes in detail the miseries endured by the POWs on a daily basis.]]>
JF Neilson]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Civilian]]> Great Britain]]> England--Blackpool]]> Scotland--Gourock]]> United States]]> New York (State)--New York]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> Manitoba]]> England--Liverpool]]> Wales--Anglesey]]> Ireland]]> Atlantic Ocean--Firth of Clyde]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Stuttgart]]> Scotland--Edinburgh]]> France]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Poland]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--London]]> Scotland--Airdrie]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Europe--Elbe River]]> Scotland--Stirling (Stirling)]]> Germany]]> New Brunswick]]>
He describes their capture, mistreatment and interrogations at various locations. After interrogations at Dulag Luft they were sent to a transit camp in Frankfurt then on by train to Heydekrug, Stalag Luft VI. Although their camp section was new it was cramped and basic. He describes camp life in detail. As the Russians got closer they were sent by train to an Army camp at Thorn. He read a copy of NCO education in the camp. These courses were extremely popular and supported by text books sent from the UK. Exams were sat and papers sent to the UK for marking. At Thorn they marched to Stammlager 357 but not for long. They then marched back to the railway and were sent to Fallingbostel. He describes the rail journey in detail, then in greater detail he describes camp life.
Later he was moved to an officer's camp at Eichstadt. This turned out to be an Army camp which refused them and they were sent to Sagan. He stayed there for a short time then was moved to Stalag Luft 3, then 111A. As the Russians neared they moved again. After a couple of days waiting in trucks they returned to their camp. The railway system was breaking down as the end of the war neared.
After the Russians reached them they were allowed out of the camp but still remained billeted there. He writes about his impressions of the Russians.
His journey home was delayed by rain that did not allow aircraft to fly.
His story ends with his retelling of the night his aircraft was shot down, his night in Brussels and his return to England.]]>
Alan McInnes]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Pending text-based transcription]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Royal Australian Air Force]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Magdeburg]]> Australia]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lichfield]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Germany--Bremen]]> Germany--Stendal]]> Switzerland]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Lithuania--Šilutė]]> Poland]]> Italy]]> Canada]]> United States]]> Poland--Szczecin]]> Poland--Toruń]]> Greece]]> Greece--Crete]]> Poland--Vistula River]]> England--Staverton (Northamptonshire)]]> Germany--Bad Fallingbostel]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Bydgoszcz]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany--Pasewalk]]> Germany--Neubrandenburg]]> Germany--Stavenhagen]]> Germany--Malchin (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Güstrow]]> Germany--Hamburg]]> Germany--Lübeck]]> Germany--Eichstätt]]> Germany--Munich]]> Germany--Kassel]]> Germany--Eisenach]]> Germany--Fürth (Bavaria)]]> Germany--Treuchtlingen]]> Germany--Ingolstadt]]> Germany--Regensburg]]> Germany--Leipzig]]> Germany--Plauen]]> Poland--Wrocław]]> New South Wales--Sydney]]> Victoria--Melbourne]]> New South Wales]]> India--Jammu and Kashmir]]> China]]> England--London]]> Germany--Elbe]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> Germany--Jüterbog]]> Ukraine--Odesa]]> Germany--Dresden]]> Germany--Halle an der Saale]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Brighton]]> Germany--Nuremberg]]> Germany--Hannover]]> Ukraine]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland--Poznań]]> Germany]]> Germany--Hof (Hof)]]> 1944-01-21]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> eng]]> Text]]> British Army]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Sue Smith]]> Royal Air Force]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Germany--Winterfeld]]> 1945-01]]> 1945-01-19]]> 1945-01-23]]> 1945-01-25]]> 1945-01-27]]> 1945-01-30]]> 1945-04-21]]> 1945-04-22]]> 1945-05-10]]> ]]> Bryce Cousens]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Claire Monk]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text. Poetry]]> Artwork]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> France]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> Germany--Berlin]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> 1939]]> 1940]]> 1943]]> 1944-02-14]]> 1944-02-21]]> 1944-03]]> 1944-04]]> 1944-04-01]]> 1944-04-19]]> 1944-05-21]]> 1944-05-22]]> 1944-06-05]]> 1944-06-07]]> 1944-06-11]]> 1944-06-12]]> 1944-06-16]]> 1944-06-17]]> 1944-06-19]]> 1944-06-25]]> 1944-07-03]]> 1944-07-08]]> 1944-07-24]]> 1944-08-13]]> 1944-08-21]]> 1944-09-04]]> 1944-09-18]]> 1944-09-28]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1944-11-20]]> 1944-12-04]]> 1944-12-20]]> 1944-12-23]]> 1945-01-30]]> E W Scott]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Anne-Marie Watson]]> Pending text-based transcription. Under review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Great Britain]]> England--Lincolnshire]]> England--Lincoln]]> England--Bedfordshire]]> England--London]]> England--Warwickshire]]> England--Stratford-upon-Avon]]> England--Wiltshire]]> England--Manchester]]> Scotland--Glasgow]]> Canada]]> New Brunswick--Moncton]]> United States]]> Georgia--Albany]]> Florida--Arcadia]]> England--Gloucestershire]]> England--Cornwall (County)]]> North Africa]]> Algeria]]> Algeria--Blida]]> Tunisia]]> Tunisia--Qayrawān]]> Middle East--Palestine]]> Middle East--Jerusalem]]> West Bank--Bethlehem]]> Israel--Tel Aviv]]> Israel--Haifa]]> Italy]]> Italy--Foggia]]> Romania]]> Romania--Ploiești]]> Slovenia]]> Slovenia--Maribor]]> Poland]]> Poland--Opole (Voivodeship)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Potsdam]]> England--Shropshire]]> Florida]]> Georgia]]> New Brunswick]]> Israel]]> West Bank]]> England--Lancashire]]> Danube River]]> 1941-02]]> 1941-10]]> 1941-11-03]]> 1941-12]]> 1942-01-06]]> 1942-01]]> 1942-02-09]]> 1942-03-24]]> 1942-05]]> 1942-06]]> 1942-07-02]]> 1942-11]]> 1943-04-19]]> 1943-05-27]]> 1943-06-09]]> 1943-10-03]]> 1944-06]]> 1944-07-23]]> 1944-10-21]]> 1945-03]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> Physical object]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> F Mannion]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Great Britain]]> England--Worcestershire]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1944-06-10]]> 1944-06-28]]> 1944-06-29]]> 1944-07-01]]> 1944-07-20]]> 1944-07-21]]> 1944-09-13]]> 1944-09-15]]> 1944-09-23]]> F Mannion]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> Pending review]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Poland]]> Poland--Olsztyn (Voivodeship)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1945-01]]> 1945-02]]> E Hookings]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> eng]]> Text]]> Text. Memoir]]> Royal Air Force]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Germany]]> Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal]]> Germany--Frankfurt am Main]]> Poland]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Germany--Halle an der Saale]]> Belgium]]> Belgium--Brussels]]> England--Shropshire]]> Great Britain]]> 1944]]> 1944-11-06]]> 1945]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Text]]> Royal Air Force]]> Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe]]> Poland]]> Poland--Bobolice (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie)]]> Poland--Żagań]]> Poland--Kostrzyn nad Odrą (Województwo Lubuskie)]]> Germany]]> Germany--Fallingbostel (Landkreis)]]> Germany--Neuwied]]> Germany--Bad Dürkheim]]> Germany--Bremen]]> 1944-11-02]]> Henry Wagner]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> David Bloomfield]]> He passed through the Aircrew Reception Centre in London, Brighton, and Liverpool, Henry found himself sailing to Durban, South Africa. He tried to become a pilot but failed a test in a Tiger Moth so was placed in the Navigational Training School. He met Graham Walker while there. On 23 December 1943 Henry became a Sergeant with a Navigator’s brevet. (Navigator brevet p27).
After moving through RAF West Freugh, Scotland, Henry was then posted to the OTU RAF Abingdon to learn more complex skills in addition to lectures about the Luftwaffe, Intelligence information and ‘Escape and Evasion’. Henry crewed up at Abingdon. (Photographs of crew p 34-5). The next move was to 4 Group Training School, and this confirmed for the crew that they would be flying Halifax Mark 3 aircraft. Here lectures were ‘all good stuff’.
The penultimate move was to 1952 HCU RAF Marston Moor to learn about the Halifax Mark 3 and meet Sergeant Eric Berry, flight engineer. (Photograph p37). Henry describes the duties of the navigator, the use of the ‘Master Bomber’, some of the anti-aircraft techniques that were used in the technological war. (Photograph using of the H2S p39, pieces of the ‘Window’ radar defence p50).
Finally, they moved to RAF Snaith. There Henry took part in raids on Julich near Essen x 2, Hagen (an aborted mission), Soest, in the Ruhr Valley, Duisburg x 2, Aachen, Munster, and Osnabruck. There was a degree of acceptance that they were statistically going to die during their duties.
Henry was returning from a raid when he appraised the pilot that there was a fire onboard. The pilot to decide to abandon the aeroplane, and Henry parachuted from his plane. He landed in the garden of a domestic house and explains the contents of his evasion-pack. He was captured, moved to the Aircrew Interrogation Centre was in Oberursel and then onto Stalag Luft 7 Bankau, Silesia. Here he rejoined John Trumble with whom Henry had undergone part of his training. There was an army padre at the camp and the influence Captain John Collins had on the POWs both at Stalag Luft 7 and when the men were marching to other camps is described. They arrived at Stalag 3A, Luckenwaldwe. Henry describes Red Cross parcel, daily life there, attacks of dysentery, and ‘Goon-baiting’.
When the ‘gen’ revealed the Russians were only 12 miles from the camp, the Germans abandoned them, and RAF Wing Commander Beamont assumed command of the camp. On 22 April 1945, the Russians arrived. They refused to release the POWs, so Henry and John walked 7 miles westwards where they were met by the Americans and taken to the Reception Centre, Schonebeck.
With VE declared and de-lousing completed they were returned to RAF Wing, Aylebury. He shows the graves of his crew (photographs p 99-101).
On demobbing Henry resumed his university studies and became a teacher. He married and had children. Henry went to a Stalag Luft 7 reunion in 1982.

Claire Campbell]]>
eng]]> Text. Memoir]]> Text]]> Civilian]]> Royal Air Force. Bomber Command]]> Great Britain]]> South Africa]]> Germany]]> Kenya]]> Germany--Winterfeld]]>
IBCC Digital Archive]]> Angela Gaffney]]> eng]]> Text]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1945-05-07]]> IBCC Digital Archive]]> eng]]> Photograph]]> Royal Air Force]]> Germany]]> Germany--Luckenwalde]]> 1945-05]]>