Glider Pilot POW's D Day

Discussion in 'Airborne' started by arnhem2280, Jul 29, 2010.

  1. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    John

    Thanks very much for the info regarding what happened to the glider. Funnily enough the Squadron log doesn't mention this at all.

    When I master how to copy photos I will repost the photo of Collins in a larger size.

    Just got to track down Captain Jack Maynards POW report which doesn't seem to be at the PRO. Possibly like Collins and Hunter he didn't compile one.

    Cheers

    Arnhem
     
  2. Serenstar

    Serenstar New Member

    Hi

    I know this post is a little old now, but my Great Uncle was a Glider Pilot in No 1 Flight 'A' Squadron. His name was Matthew McCracken, he was captured on 20th September 1944 and was eventually taken to Stalag Luft 7 Bankau. Per his POW Diary there is a brief mention of Collins and this must be the same one. He mentions on 7th October when arriving at Bankau - the “inmates” were gathering on the other side of the white fence giving us the “V” sign. Was amazed to see Collins who’d been reported “dead”.

    Just thought i would add that to this post, he is not mentioned anywhere else in the diary.
     
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  3. Lindsay Aspin

    Lindsay Aspin Senior Member

    Hello Serenstar,

    Thank you for posting details about your Great Uncle, Glider Pilot, Matthew McCracken, together with information concerning GPR pilot Collins.

    Hopefully, Arnhem2280 will be along shortly; but if not, you could always send a PM.

    Kind regards,
    Lindsay
     
  4. brithm

    brithm Senior Member

    Serenstar,

    That's a great find. Was there anything else in the diary about other glider pilots in Normandy?

    Brithm
     
  5. Paul Pariso

    Paul Pariso Very Senior Member

    Hello Serenstar,

    I have a S/Sgt R McCracken of No.1 Flight, A Sqdn, service no.2929859 in my records. Would that be your Great Uncle?

    All the best :)
     
  6. Serenstar

    Serenstar New Member

    Yes Paul that is him for some reason he is recorded as R with the AAC but he is Matthew Robert and never used the Robert.
     
  7. Serenstar

    Serenstar New Member

    Brithm

    I think all from arnhem lift and some raf pilots.
     
  8. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    Hi Serenstar

    I can confirm that the Stead referred to is in all probability Jack Stead who was 'A' Sqdn and captured at Arnhem. He was in Stalag Luft 7 and took part in the long march. Can you give me any details about him from the logbook.

    Cheers

    Arnhem

    Thanks very much for your reply to me pm.
     
  9. slawrancedxb

    slawrancedxb New Member

    Hello Horsapassenger,
    My late father Lance Corporal Ronald John Lawrance 6th Airborne (Div HQ)Royal Ulster Rifles was a member of General Gales personal defence platoon and was the passenger on Glider chalk number 84. He passed away at age 90 a couple of years ago after spending 40 years searching for the glider landing place without success. The account of the tug pilots corresponds exactly with what he told me as do the other notes concerning his being wounded, subsequently captured and sent to Evreux and then Paris, after which he was put in a box car and sent to Dresden as a POW. In fairly recent years he had tried to contact the Glider pilots and spoken to one of them but that person was incapable of remembering any details. Captain Maynard was also mentioned as he and my father disagreed about the direction they should follow once they had got out of the wrecked glider and the pilots went their own way. The pilots went by compass bearing and the Captain and my father followed the glider stream.It seems that the pilots evaded capture by following the book. He managed to send my mother a message from Paris taken by a fellow patient who escaped back to England and she did not hear from him for a year after that.
    I would be pleased to receive any further confirmation of Glider 84's resting place in case it still exists as a garden shed somewhere.The evidence suggest that it must be near Cabourg .

    Best wishes
    Slawrancedxb
     
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  10. brithm

    brithm Senior Member

    Slawrancedxb,

    Here is a photo of the 6th Airborne Division's Royal Engineer H.Q. Middle row (middle right and end right) Capt. Maynard & Sgt. Taylor who were in glider 84. Lt. Shinner stands next to Capt. Maynard, who was taken prisoner at De Grangues.

    The RE HQ were separated between glider 84 and 85; both took off from Harwell.

    Others in the aircraft were Spr. Beeby and Walker of the Royal Engineers, your father was the only one who was not an engineer, all were captured.

    The glider may have landed near Carbourg, as I do believe if Glider Pilots Hunter and Collins were captured around the 3rd of July, it would be most likely be at the Vermughen Farm but that is pure conjecture.

    Brithm
     

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    Cee likes this.
  11. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    The Vermughen Family paid a terrible price for the help they gave 6th Airborne Paras and GPs that fell into the flooded fields surrounding their farm.

    The tragedy of the Vermughen family - Terry Jepp

    "Le Prix de la Liberté" by Raymond Ruffin has more detail concerning their fate. My French is not the best but from what I can gather the family was betrayed and Adrien Vermughen was later shot by the Germans at Saint-Pierre-du-Jonquet on the 17th of July 1944.

    Memorial Saint-Pierre-du-Jonquet

    In 1945 Madame Vermughen talked with investigators concerning the fate of Canadian Para, Hector Philippe Sylvestre, who was present at the farm up to July 4th, 1944. I have yet to come across any other statements made by the surviving Vermughen family members concerning the many Paras that harboured at their farm.

    Regards ...

    Edit: Link
     
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  12. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    Hi

    This is a bit of a belated addition to this thread. I promised to post a larger picture of S/Sgt Terence Collins on the forum as the one I initially posted was very small. Hopefully I have mastered photos on the computer and been able to enlarge it. This is mainly for Britm who requesetd the photo.

    Cheers

    Arnhem
     

    Attached Files:

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  13. brithm

    brithm Senior Member

    arnhem2280,

    Thanks for putting the photo up, pleased to see he's smiling.

    I have attached a photo taken in Paris on 29th June 1944 outside Gare du Nord, Paris. You can see it on the 6th Airborne Division - Prisoners of War thread.

    http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/44371-6th-airborne-division-prisoners-of-war/

    It is a possibility that this might be S/Sgt. Terence Collins even though he is wearing sergeant stripes rather than staff.

    Just a thought as there are a few glider pilots identified in the Paris films of 29th June 1944 but no names to put to the faces.

    brithm
     

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  14. Ludo68000

    Ludo68000 6th Airborne D-Day

    Brithm,

    just a short detail. The picture in your last post was taken outside Gare de l'Est station in Paris, rue d'Alsace.
    I can recognise it with the fence and the round Windows.

    Regards,

    Ludo
     
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  15. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    Hi Brithm

    I dn't think that this man can be S/Sgt Collins as he is described as being 5' 7" tall and the man in the photo seems very much taller than the others shown. Also in all the photos I have seen of Terence Collins he has very high and obvious cheekbones.

    Cheers

    Arnhem
     
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  16. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    When I first started this topic in 2010 I was hoping to be able to tie down the exact events that led to both Sgt Collins and Sgt Hunters capture. I have received a lot of help from the forum for which I am very grateful. Sadly last June I failed to notice a pm I received from the Grandson of Alan Hunter who had joined the forum under the name of DavidM340. I only noticed the pm last month and have been trying to contact him since. I n his message he said that he knew the story of how his Grandfather came to be captured and exactly where it took place. I have checked his profile and he joined in June 2014 and has as far as I can see not posted or taken part in the forum other than to pm me on the one occaision.

    Does anyone know David Milling whose mother Christine Milling was Alan Hunters daughter as I would very much like to speak to him. I suppose the other way of tracing him is to see if his e mail address is archived on the forum and a message could be sent to him on my behalf. Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

    Cheers

    Arnhem

    PS That will teach me to check my messages more often!
     
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  17. Ludo68000

    Ludo68000 6th Airborne D-Day

    Hi all,

    looking at the German films about the POWs march in Paris on 29th June 1944, i came across very nice stills of a glider pilot (S/Sgt).
    Who could this man be? looking at him and the men next to him they all seem to be in a good mood.

    regards,

    Ludo
     

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  18. brithm

    brithm Senior Member

    Just saw this in Liverpool Echo 4th January 1945 regarding the birth of Collins son whilst he was in a POW Camp
     

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  19. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    Thanks very much for posting the birth notice. Its another bit of info for the file.

    Cheers

    Arnhem
     
  20. CAR

    CAR Member

    Hello Gentlemen,
    I am a French newcomer on this forum ; as an archaeologist and an historian living in Normandy near Cabourg, and working on WW2 relics and history, I 've been recently involved in a research about the crew of a lost Horsa glider on DDay. This glider crashed East of Ranville, at Varaville, near la Dives and la Ferme du Bac, in the same area than the lost glider of Coup de main force. Late the mother of one of my friend's wife, who was a Young girl, had told him about that crew that was fed and sheltered in a farm near the Dives marshes. She kept a few names on a piece of paper : Peter Middane ; Alan Hunter ; Cyril Williams, O. Pres (?) ; J. Lalbin, and a picture of a Glider Pilot, with no name. I found nothing about these men except S/Sgt Alan Hunter, in the GliderPilotReg HQ war diary (WO 171/1233, Headquarters, The Glider Pilot Regiment). Then I read with great interest the past discussions about him and Collins, where it is said that their glider was not chalk 27 as stated on the Glider Pilot HQ WD, but chalk 84... I post the picture, I presume it could be Alan Hunter ? if any help, please let us know. I hope we could maybe find some more data on the crash location. Kind regards.
     

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