Lieutenant Ellis Way

[adrian roberts]

Wasn't sure which section to put this in....
I hope this will be of relevance to those of you interested in the 8th Air Force or the Home Front, and to anyone who lives in South East England and who has left the M25 and headed up the A10 in the Cambridge direction. If you are among the latter, you will have noted that the first road off the A10 on the left, the B198, is called Lieutenant Ellis Way.

(For non-UK dwellers, the M25 is the ring road around London, ofen referred to as the world's biggest car park, and probably the biggest cause of pollution, high blood pressure and Being Late For Meetings in the developed world).

I decided to find out who Lieutenant Ellis was.

After a few false trails, I contacted the Archives Dept of Hertfordshire County Council. They were extremely helpful, and for a nominal fee they sent me a copy of a section from the book “Cheshunt at War 1939-45” by Peter Rook. I had to sign a copyright declaration so I’m putting the following in my own words. Some of the analysis and the conclusions are my own.

2nd Lieutenant John D. Ellis (the memorial plaque says John D; the book says D J Ellis) was the Captain and pilot of a B24 Liberator bomber of 577th Squadron, 392nd Bomb Group, USAAF, based at Wendling in Norfolk. It crashed at dawn on 12th August 1944, in a meadow at Albury Farm, just west of the A10 on the opposite side to Cheshunt (between the A10 and the New River). Almost certainly it had collided with a B17 Fortress of 398th Bomb Group based at Nuthampstead, Herts, which crashed at Loudwater, near High Wycombe. (This is about 28 miles away). There were ten men aboard each aircraft; all twenty died. They were part of a bomber stream forming up for an attack on the Cherbourg peninsula.
The Liberator burned fiercely for some time after the crash (the account does not say how long), and then exploded as the heat detonated the bombs. There were no fatalities on the ground, but a girl was hit by a piece of debris and was in a coma for some time, and the Albury Farm dog was in the meadow and was never seen again.

In the days following the crash, the belief spread that the pilot, Ellis, had sacrificed his chance to bale out in order to steer the aircraft away from Cheshunt. Several eye witnesses believed that once the aircraft exited the cloud at about two thousand feet, it flew in a curve away from the town, before plunging to the ground. Memorial plaques to the crew were placed in Cheshunt library and in the American War Cemetery at Cambridge. The memorials state that the crew “gave their lives in order to prevent their aircraft from crashing on our homes”.

However, there is some doubt as to whether this was the case. Peter Rook says this was “the most difficult part of the book to write, because opinions and memories of the incident vary so widely”. Some eyewitnesses believe that the aircraft came more or less straight down. Some suggest that its tail unit was missing before it impacted the ground, so that it could not have been under control. However, if this is so there is no mention of where the tail unit landed. One unbeliever is Roger Freeman, author of “The Mighty Eighth War Diaries” among many other books, and not a man given to debunking stories of heroism without good reason. He points out that if Ellis had retained any degree of control, surely he would have ordered his crew to bail out even if he remained at the controls. The fact that no-one baled out from either aircraft suggests that they sustained catastrophic damage in the collision and became uncontrollable so that baling out was impossible. I would suggest that a counterargument to this could be that as the crash sites were 28 miles apart, at least one of the aircraft must have descended at a fairly shallow angle, indicating a degree of control. Nuthampstead is only 21 miles from Cheshunt so the aircraft could not have reached cruising altitude. Maybe Ellis waited until he was out of the clouds before ordering the crew to bail out, not realising the cloud base was so low, and so left it too late.

Obviously the truth will never be known. “Lieutenant Ellis Way” did not receive that name until the 50th Anniversary of VE day in 1995 (previously it was “Flamstead End Relief Road”), so the legend continued to have influence. But whatever happened, those men took off that day knowing that there was a good chance they would not return, as thousands of others did not. Even if they are considered only as representatives of the Eighth Air Force, they deserve remembrance and a memorial is entirely appropriate.

Adrian

[b17sam]

Obviously the truth will never be known. “Lieutenant Ellis Way” did not receive that name until the 50th Anniversary of VE day in 1995 (previously it was “Flamstead End Relief Road”), so the legend continued to have influence. But whatever happened, those men took off that day knowing that there was a good chance they would not return, as thousands of others did not. Even if they are considered only as representatives of the Eighth Air Force, they deserve remembrance and a memorial is entirely appropriate.

Adrian --- I heartily agree with the last paragraph of your post. I also believe Roger Freeman's opinion about the accident is conceivably the most accurate account. We can't possibly ever truly reconstruct the event, but we can and should honor their memory.
I have some information about the accident (name of planes, names and rank of crews, a small picture of where one of the ships crashed, etc.) Let me know what you wish to receive. Please reply on this site as my many anti-virus and anti-spy programs tend to filter out much of my e-mail.

[adrian roberts]

Sam
Thanks for your offer!
I have a picture of the plaque for Ellis's crew which I attach below, but it hasn't reproduced well. If you have a better one that would be great.
Do you have the names of the B17 crew? Were the crews experienced or new?

I had heard of another accident where two US Bombers collided over Ashburnham in Sussex, causing a huge mid-air explosion. Do you know anything about that? (I've seen the date quoted in a local source as being on D-day, but this may not be accurate). Were these incidents common?
Adrian

[b17sam]

Adrian --- I'm afraid I don't have much to add to your research other than a photo of the B-24 crash site taken shortly after the accident and the crew roster for the B-24. All I have on the B-17 is its name, serial number and crash site. The photo is posted on the home page of my website at http://www.b17sam.com

Fatal mid air collisions over England were common and all too frequent when bombers assembled in overcast shortly after dawn to take their slots in the vast bomber stream. In the early morning of August 12, 1944, a 398th Bomb Group B-17 from Nuthampstead collided with a 392nd Bomb Group B-24 from Wendling. Above is crash site of the un-named B-24 just outside of Cheshunt.

The B-17 named Tomahawk Warrior crashed near Lude Farm, Loudwater

Un-named B-24 #42-95023 392nd Bomb Group- Wendling
Crew (all killed)
Pilot 2Lt John D. Ellis --- California
CoPilot FO S. C. Stalsby
Navigator 2Lt Robert R. Cox
TopTurret T/Sgt S. F. Jankowski
RadioOperator T/Sgt J. H. Holling
Gunner S/Sgt Frank Minick, Jr.
Gunner Sgt J. V. Cable
Gunner S/Sgt C. W. Hultengren
Gunner S/Sgt J. D. Shafer
Bombardier Unknown

Tomahawk Warrior B-17 #42-107191 398th Bomb Group - Nuthampstead
Crew (all killed)

[adrian roberts]

Sam
The tenth name on the memorial plaque, presumably the Bombardier's, is S/Sgt William C McGinley.
The co-pilot's rank is given as "FO". What was this short for? In the RAF it meant Flying Officer (equivalent to 1st Lieut). Could Stalsby have been an RAF officer on secondment?
I had looked at your site but I must have skipped over the pic of the very incident we've been talking about!
Adrian

[b17sam]

Adrian --- In the U.S. Army Air Force, FO was the abbreviation for Flight Officer. The rank was roughly equivalent to the non-existing rank of 3rd Lieutenant. Most Flight Officers were promoted to 2nd Lieutenant at some point during their tour of missions.

[Drew5233]

Interesting, this reminded me of the American Chap remembered in Kent near my folks. See the thread below:
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-air...rial-kent.html

Does anyone have anymore information or pictures?

Regards
Andy

[britman]

Interesting to see this thread as I grew up in Cheshunt and heard about this for many years from my Parents. My Dad was born in Cheshunt, not too far away from the crash site. I remember the renaming ceremony in 95, maybe you check the local paper. The Cheshunt and Waltham Cross Mercury for any past clippings.

I like to believe that Lt.Ellis did divert the plane away from the town. But, as mentioned above, we will never know. At least the people of Cheshunt decided to honor him in a great way.

[Pete Keane]

My old ATC Squadron provided a ceremonial guard for the re-dedicating ceremony in 1995.

If memory serves me correctly, the memorial plaque is in the Police Station, not the library?

Pete.

[britman]

Cheshunt News & Waltham News | Latest News & Events in Cheshunt & Waltham in Hertfordshire - Ernie wins battle to honour US war heroes who saved Cheshunt
Ernie wins battle to honour US war heroes who saved Cheshunt

By Martin Ford

A MEMORIAL to 10 American airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice to save Cheshunt from destruction is to become reality after a 65-year struggle.

SACRIFICE: Ernie Havis and Lee Willians with an artist's impression of the memorial. Photo: HOD0619047


A B-24 Liberator was on its way to perform a bombing mission on August 12, 1944 when it is thought that a mid-air collision sent it tumbling from the sky with a full payload of explosives.

Headed for the heart of Cheshunt, where the Old Pond is now located, the crew bravely remained onboard to steer the aircraft clear of the town, ensuring no civilians died in the crash.

Then-15-year-old firefighter Ernie Havis attended the scene. Haunted by the experience of retrieving the bodies of the airmen, yet inspired by their actions, he resolved to recognise their courageous act.

After Broxbourne Council turned down Mr Havis’ request for funding, Broxbourne resident Lee Williamson donated the funds to build the memorial.

Now 80 years old, Mr Havis spoke to the Mercury of the events of that day for the first time.

He said: “I joined the auxiliary fire service at Waltham Abbey in March 1942 at the age of just 13, I was a big lad and no-one ever asked my age. The war was not going well and the service was desperate for recruits.

"At first we were given a lecture instructing us to take messages from one blitz job to another where telephone lines were down, in reality we took no messages at all, instead we were hastily trained in pump and fire drill. For all our toiling we received no wages as such, just 3s (15p) a night to buy our supper.

“We all did watch room duty, taking in information where an assortment of different bombs - fire bombs, land mines, etc – had fallen. A spell on watchtower duty from the church tower gave us a clear view of the bombed area and we often had to attend to calls in total blackout making things even more hazardous.

“Quite often we would be confronted with unexploded bombs and had to send for the bomb disposal team. These were very brave lads and many of them died as a result of bombs being fitted with time-delayed or booby trap fuses.

“Our station was very close to the gunpowder factory which was a high priority target for the German bombers. Night after night bombs fell close to the factory boundary with only one falling inside the fence, this did very little damage at the time.

“It was during this period I was attacked by a madman with a firearm. He mistook me for a police officer and struck me on the side of my head with the butt of a rifle, this injury left me in a coma for a considerable period of time and almost cost me my life. Following my recovery I was glad to be re-stationed at Chingford, east London though I did miss the great bunch of comrades I left behind.

“By 1944 I thought I had seen all that the Second World War could throw at me but on August 12 later that year something even more horrific was to occur.

“It was around 8am that Saturday morning, and I had just finished a busy nightshift dealing with the Germans’ new V1 ‘doodlebug’ rockets that were coming over in droves. As I cycled through Waltham Cross on my way home I suddenly heard an almighty explosion and as I looked in the direction it came from I saw a huge pall of dark smoke.

“During my training we were always instructed to investigate such occurrences to offer assistance so I hastily made my way over to the site just off the arterial road - now the A10. When I arrived I was faced with a scene of absolute carnage.

“An older fireman, already there, told me it was a plane crash with a number of casualties. He instructed me to gather up any body parts I could find and place them into individual heaps. Moments later that fireman disappeared and I was left on my own to deal with this most gruesome task.

“Burned and blackened body parts including limbs, a boot, a torn leather flying jacket with other damaged clothing and personal belongings were scattered far and wide as were thousands of .50 calibre cannon shells. As a 15-year-old I found all this very difficult to take in.

“A short time later I noticed some movement from the blackened straw, I approached and it was a small brown dog, obviously attracted by some of the remains. I went for him aggressively and he ran off, never to be seen again.

“I treated the remains and every item with the utmost respect and found it very distressing to think these brave men, whoever they were, would never experience the joy of returning home to the arms of their families and loved ones.

“An hour or so later a number of American officers turned up with a fire crew, they stood looking at the debris and started to handle some of the live cannon shells almost unperturbed. Initially this made me angry but I later realised this was their way of dealing with the emotional side of the situation.

“From that point onwards I was determined to see these brave men were honoured for laying down their lives in the name of freedom for our country. Six weeks after the crash a farm worker clearing a potato field some 200yeards away made a grim discovery – the torso of the missing 10th airman, staff sergeant William McGinley lay amongst the foliage, an unexploded 100lb bomb was also found close by.

“Emotions among the residents of Cheshunt and Waltham Cross were moved by this tragic loss of life and a ‘bomber fund’ was started the day after the incident. Over a period of several months this fund grew to a sum in excess of £200 and a plaque was made from the proceeds and presented to the memory of the 10 young airmen.

“This plaque now hangs above the door of the reading room in Cheshunt Library and was the subject of a restoration after a struggle several years ago. An identical plaque hangs on the wall of the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Madingley, Cambridgeshire.

“I have tried over many years to have a proper memorial built in remembrance of the brave airmen and just by chance approached a business group and mentioned the subject. At the time they agreed to help finance the scheme providing I designed it and obtained full approval from the council. Unfortunately despite all my efforts and even though I had full council consent, the group withdrew its financial support.

“Several months later I was in discussion with a very dear friend of mine, Lee Williamson, and he was most interested and moved at the proposed building and presentation of the memorial. Without hesitation he agreed to finance the project in full and to the highest standards. We subsequently had a meeting with the stonemason in Bishops Stortford where we ordered and paid for the red granite stone.

“After many hurdles and disappointments, I have all but finally managed to realise the task I set out to accomplish, even though it has taken me some 65 years. These young, courageous Americans paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of our country and I feel most privileged to be able to honour them in this way. The Lieutenant Ellis Bomber memorial will be ready for instatement and unveiling during the early part of 2010.

“I would like to thank my dear friend and historian David Parnell for help in writing this article and for his thorough research into the incident whilst compiling his book B-24 Down – Cheshunt’s Brush With Disaster.”